Security Unreliable

France raised its security level after terrorist attack on Charlié Hebdo. Jordan started new series of air raid on Islamic State, being furious on IS’s video burning Jordanian pilot alive. What is Japan doing after slaughter of two civil hostages? As far as we can see, the government of Japan looks like only raising security level in immigration to block terrorists arriving Japan. This nation, not immunized in terrorist attack, does not know what should be done.

Bureaucrats love to have meetings. Right after the slaughter of Kenji Goto, a joint meeting of police, diplomats and immigration officers was held for discussing security measures to protect the homeland from terrorist attack. They agreed on raising security level in immigration desk in international airports and around important facilities including public transportation or American Embassy. Minister of Justice, Yoko Kamikawa, announced that her ministry would take advantage of database of missing passports in International Criminal Police Organization for immigrant checking. Ministry of Finance required financial corporations to prevent money exchange of terrorists.

The government of Japan demanded every foreigner in sixteen years or older to submit fingerprints and portrait in immigration in 2007. Although the system can immediately search the information of the person at the immigration desk, its database is not broad enough to check all people coming to Japan.

In 2009, it introduced blousing system of missing passports in ICPO. If one’s information matched with someone suspicious or losing passport, special officer of immigration bureau interviews to the person. If a possibility of terrorism was recognized, the officer does not allow entering Japan. However, terrorists of IS are mostly so fresh that ICPO would not have information on them.

Moreover, the government has a plan to increase foreign travelers as much as twenty million by Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. It eased regulation for issuing visa to the Indonesians, Filipinoes and Vietnamese last year. The immigration bureau has a goal to shorten the waiting time at immigration desks to less than twenty minutes. Entering Japan for foreigners is getting easier.

IS declared that it would carry on carnage wherever the Japanese are found. It is the responsibility of Japanese government to protect its nation from internal terrorism. But, however its political leader assails to fight terrorism, this nation is not accustomed to fighting terrorism.