All your fingerprints are belong to us
November 20th is getting closer, and with it the time when all foreigners entering Japan (with some special exceptions) will be fingerprinted and possibly photographed too, as part of the welcome to the country. Still not entirely sure what these machines will be like yet as the only video clip of it to be shown has been in Japanese, made for the Japanese people. Great work there, for a machine that will be testing foreigners!
Just wondered what everyone’s opinions on this system is. The government, of course, is using the protection from terror reasoning (if in doubt, say it’s to protect against terrorists). This is, of course, if we assume that all terrorists are non-Japanese. Errr… except Ikuo Harashi, Kenichi Hirose, Toru Toyoda, Masato Yokoyama and Yasuo Hayashi, who orchestrated the Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks, and many other events and people. Also, if anyone can forge a Japanese passport then they can get into the country without being fingerprinted at all. Is anyone seeing, as I do, a couple of flaws that might be in their plan?
The story is already starting to get negative publicity in other countries and it’s hardly going to entice people to visit Japan. Looks like the Japan National Tourist Organization are going to have their work cut out, especially as they are just embarking on a plan to get more British tourists travelling to Japan.
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The US is pulling the same crap, violating personal rights in the name of ‘terrorism’. I am a firm believer that if people want to do something bad, and they actually have a brain, they are probably going to succeed. There are millions of ways to avoid all of these ’safe guards’ we put in place and we are constantly shown their failures. We cannot watch everything 100% of the time.
All the laws are doing is pissing off innocent people. The governments are just using fear to implement laws that would otherwise never pass. Look at the US and wiretapping, that was (and still is) a fiasco and a half.
What I really want to know, does any one actually feel safer, or just that everything is a huge hassle now?
Thanks for the comment Crystal, and for sticking with my blog in the relative drought of entries in recent weeks. I don’t think anyone feels safer, because we know that it’s not the main reason the governments are doing it. It’s just 1984 coming to reality.
It’s the same with blocking terrorists bank accounts. You can imagine the conversations going on in a small cave on the Afghan/Pakistan border:
“So, are we going to bomb that train tomorrow?”
“Well, I would but I’ve got to save my money these days!”
Hi Dave,
Good to see you back online, for starters and definately a good topic you picked there.
Crystal put it pretty much on the table, the way I see it as well.
The ‘terrorist threat’ is just a wild card to get the most ridiculous laws in place that are a complete violation of privacy.
You put a rather nice slant on it by pointing out that only the Gajin can be terrorists, not Japanese nationals. Do I smell a racist rat?
Keep it up Dave, I miss your blog entries!
and what are they going to do about my 3rd thumb from my twin brother which i absorbed during birth…fingerprint all of them? that would throw “them” for a lopp–deviating from the plan…heavan forbid. or my greenthumb for that matter.