mytest
COMMENT FROM THE PODCAST SECTION UP AT TRANS PACIFIC RADIO:
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Comment by J
November 1, 2007 @ 8:04 pm
Hi, Debito.
Just read the last paragraph of this document prepared by the Department of Homeland Security of the US, and find who is forcing Ministry of Justice of Japan to collect fingerprints of foreigners coming to Japan.
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0838.shtm
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Pool Data with Like-minded Foreign Governments – As the United States’ systems and data improve, State and DHS must make these initiatives global. We will continue diplomatic efforts for the comprehensive exchange of watchlists, biometrics, and lost and stolen passport information with other governments as well as building capacity to effectively use this information. A central topic in this diplomacy is development of a common approach to protecting the privacy of the data, both in the way it is collected and the way it is shared.
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This page was last modified on 01/17/06 00:00:00
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A CLEAR BIT OF GAIATSU HAPPENING HERE, FROM OUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD HEGEMON.
ARUDOU DEBITO IN SAPPORO
ENDS
2 comments on “Probable USG gaiatsu re GOJ fingerprint laws: Quote from Department of Homeland Security website”
Important points to ponder:
(1) “Pool Data with Like-minded Foreign Governments”… Japan would be ‘like-minded’ whether the US wanted this or not! The US is providing Japan with just the excuse it needs to implement a law that it’s always wanted to implement; make no mistake.
(2) If Japan were really going to a US-style system, it would go all the way and make the borders extremely strict but have tight safeguards on civil liberties once you’re safely vetted and inside the country. Instead, Japan is taking the most totalitarian parts of two different systems and passing it off as international cooperation.
Want to go to US-style invasive screening at the border? Fine with me, as long as you abolish the mandatory carrying of the Alien Registration Card system and the additional immigration checks that can occur at any time even after legally entering the country.
In the United States, the 1983 Kolender v. Lawson decision, in which a black man was stopped repeatedly by police for looking ‘suspicious’, made it clear that arbitrary ID checks and police questioning are illegal.
The Alien Card contains massive amounts of personal information; enough that a copy of one would made identity theft possible all by itself. What purpose will Alien Cards serve once the new fingerprinting laws are in effect? All illegal migrants would have been caught at the border, right?
I’m not much of a fan of the US system either. But I’d endure it knowing that once that check — which you can set time aside for in advance — is over, I’d be free to go about my existence without having to carry any government papers and without having to endure random questioning from police and whomever else (employers, driving license centers, schools, employers, hotels, cell phone vendors, etc.) they want to deputize.
Hegemon the US may be, but in this case they’re providing the Japanese government with a convenient scapegoat. Either have border scrutiny, or have Alien Registration, but not both.
In my country in Europe we have national ID, every citizen who turns 18 (adult) get his ID. We are not obligated to carry it at all, unless you go to open bank account or do other official things, but it still only to confirm your identity, not to take copy as in Japan. One should carry when going to another EU state in case to confirm EU Citizenship (no passport needed). Again, we are not obligated to carry, though most of people have int heir wallet anyway. Why? If you get accident or lose consciousnesses on the street, they can easier identify you.