Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
suspect persons. Thereby, immigration inspectors can prepare for landing examinations and deportation procedures prior to landing applications by foreign nationals suspected as terrorists, which enables more effective immigration control.

This provision will be enforced on a day prescribed by a cabinet order within a period not exceeding one year from the date of promulgation (May 24, 2006).

## 2 Establishment of Provisions to Further Facilitate Immigration Control

## (1) Establishment of Provisions to Simplify and Facilitate Landing Examination Procedures

An automated gate system using fingerprints and other personal identification information will be introduced in immigration examinations. In order to simplify and facilitate landing examinations, foreign nationals such as special permanent residents, will be permitted to pass through the automated gates without receiving a landing permission stamp if they satisfy certain requirements such as having received a re-entry permit.

Further, measures will be established by a Ministry of Justice ordinance to enable use of the automated gate without receiving a confirmation stamp when registered foreign nationals depart from Japan and when registered Japanese nationals depart from and return to Japan.

This provision will be enforced on a day prescribed by a cabinet order within a period not exceeding 18 months from the date of promulgation (May 24, 2006).

## (2) Establishment of Provisions to Facilitate Deportation through Relaxation of the Principle of Repatriation

Under the conventional Immigration Control Act any person subject to deportation had to be, in principle, deported to a country of which he/she is a national or citizen. Even if a third country agreed to accept such foreign nationals, they could not be deported to the country as long as they could be sent to their home country. This was detrimental to the facilitation of deportation.

Consequently, due to relaxation of the principle of repatriation, a person who has received permission for departure at his/her own expense can be sent to an accepting country other than his/her home country, which not only allows for facilitation of deportation but also for enhancement of the detection of illegal immigrants.

This provision will be enforced on November 24, 2006.
## 3 Establishment of Provisions for Nationwide Implementation of the Preferential Measures under the Law on Special Zones for Structural Reform

The government decided to take measures to carry out nationwide programs promoting acceptance of foreign researchers and foreign information processing engineers mainly implemented in the Special Zones for Structural Reform by the end of FY 2005.

Therefore, the amendment of the Immigration Control Act stipulates the following activities as the status of residence of “Designated Activities” : (1) designated research activities, (2) designated research business activities, (3) designated dependent’s activities concerning (1) or (2), (4) designated information processing activities, and (5) designated dependent’s activities concerning (4) and measures equivalent to the above, (6) foreign professor’s educational activities and (7) foreign professor’s dependent’s activities as activities stipulated as preferential measures for the status of residence under the Law on the Special Zones for Structural Reform. The maximum term of residence granted for these activities has been extended from “three years” to “five years”.

Moreover, a person who intends to engage in the activities of (4) is required to meet the criteria stipulated by the Ministerial Ordinance, taking into consideration the impacts on Japanese industry and the lives of the general public. In addition, foreign nationals who intend to engage in activities (1) to (7) are required to prove by a certificate of eligibility that they meet the conditions for landing relating to relevant activities.

Provisions related to this matter in the Law on the Special Zones for Structural Reform will be deleted at the time of enforcement of this provision.

This provision will be enforced on November 24, 2006.
## Chapter 2 Efforts to Halve the Number of Illegal Foreign Residents

Aiming at restoring Japan to the position of “the safest nation in the world” and taking active, comprehensive measures to recover public safety, the Ministerial Meeting Concerning Measures against Crimes formulated the “Action Plan for the Realization of a Society Resistant to Crime” on December 18, 2003.

According to this Action Plan, the government will aim at halving the number of illegal foreign residents, some of whom are potential criminals, in the next five years up until 2008 to ensure public safety. Also with a view to eliminating unreasonable suspicion toward the many foreign nationals who are staying in Japan peacefully and legally, the Immigration Bureau will promote various measures such as “tightening monitoring and controls at the border”, “taking measures against foreign nationals who illegally enter and stay in Japan”, and “reinforcing cooperation with foreign counterparts”.

As Japan has a higher income level than its neighboring nations, many foreign nationals have been entering Japan from these neighboring nations, intending to work illegally in Japan. In addition, about 30,000 foreign nationals are estimated to be residing secretly in Japan as stowaways after having entered Japan with the help of brokers. Aiming to halve the number of these illegal foreign residents in the five-year period from 2004 to 2008 and to meet the recent strong social needs for restoring public safety, the Immigration Bureau has been actively working with the agencies concerned to address the problem of illegal foreign residents in accordance with the three principles: preventing illegal foreign residents from “coming to”, “landing in” and “staying in” Japan.

## Section 1 ◆ Measures to Prevent Illegal Foreign Nationals from Coming to Japan

## 1 Strict Pre-Entry Examination

With respect to pre-entry examination, such as those on applications for the certificates of eligibility for particular types of status of residence which many illegal foreign residents have, the Immigration Bureau will actively investigate the existing conditions and conduct stricter examination on such investigation.
## 2 Cooperation with Related Agencies for Strict Examination

Strict examination for issuance of a visa is effective in preventing illegal foreign residents from entering Japan. Therefore, the Immigration Bureau has been making efforts to establish a system to share necessary information in mutual cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant agencies.

## 3 Active Overseas Public Relations

To prevent illegal foreign residents from entering Japan, the Immigration Bureau has created a leaflet translated into the major foreign languages so that foreign nationals can easily understand its contents. The bureau has widely distributed it through overseas diplomatic establishments and elsewhere. In addition, the bureau has also accepted requests for media coverage, including requests from overseas radio stations and newspaper publishers, and has actively carried out public relations activities to promote the Japanese immigration control system.

## Section 2 ◆ Measures to Prevent Illegal Foreign Residents from Landing in Japan

## 1 Strict Landing Examinations

The Immigration Bureau has been making efforts to provide stricter landing examination procedures by using new measures such as APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) (see 3 below), which receives information on passengers in an electronic form before the aircraft arrive in Japan, as well as a secondary examination system and pre-clearance system.

Furthermore, the bureau analyzes data on new illegal overstayers in various ways in order to use the results of analysis for efficient and effective hearings by special inquiry officers.

In addition, a “strict landing examination period” is scheduled several times a year so as to strengthen landing examinations intensively.

## 2 Strict Examination of Forged or Altered Documents

In order to deal properly with cases where foreign nationals use forged or altered documents for the purpose of illegally residing in Japan, the Immigration Bureau established a document examination office in the Narita Airport District Immigration Office of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, in the Kansai Airport District Immigration Office of the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau, and in the Chubu Airport District Immigration Office of the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau, respectively. Thereby, the Immigration Bureau
actively examines travel documents, gathers and analyzes information on forged or altered documents, and provides training for immigration control staff. The bureau has installed high-performance forged or altered document examination devices with communication function and booth-type document examination devices that can be used at landing examination booths in major airports and seaports all over Japan. Thereby, the bureau has been making efforts to establish a system which enables it to more promptly identify information on detected forged or altered documents in Japan and to ensure detecting such documents at the border (see Chapter 3, Section 3).

## 3 Effective Utilizing APIS (Advance Passenger Information System)

The National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance have been jointly implementing APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) since January 4, 2005. This is a system that receives information on passengers in an electronic form that has been obtained by airline companies before completion of boarding procedures, and then automatically crosschecks the information against information in the databases of suspect persons, that are owned by the authorities concerned, before the airplanes arrive in Japan in order to check whether any person on board is on the list. The immigration inspector is able to implement strict landing examination on the results of the crosscheck and is also able to prevent suspect persons from landing in Japan in cooperation with the related agencies. In addition, the great majority of trouble-free foreign visitors can go through landing examinations more smoothly than ever before thanks to these new laborsaving procedures.

## Section 3 ◆ Measures to Prevent Illegal Foreign Residents from Staying in Japan

## 1 Implementing Strict Examinations on Applications Relating to Residence

The Immigration Bureau strictly examines foreign nationals suspected of falsifying the purpose of residence. For example, the bureau actively investigates existing conditions and revokes the status of residence in some cases.

## 2 Effective Detection Activities

The Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureaus implement detection all year round. Other regional immigration bureaus have actively promoted joint detection campaigns with the police and other related agencies while sharing a mutual assistance system with neighboring regional bureaus. In addition, regional immigration bureaus have
also implemented intensive detection in major cities nationwide where many illegal foreign residents work, places where illegal foreign residents frequently gather, and red-light districts and offices (see Chapter 5, Section 1, 1).

## 3 Actively Applying the Provisions of Article 65 of the Immigration Control Act

Based on the “Joint Declaration on Strengthening of the Measures against Illegal Foreign Residents Staying in Tokyo,” in October 2003 the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department started implementing transition measures to deportation procedures efficiently by applying the provisions of Article 65 of the Immigration Control Act. The Immigration Bureau has made active efforts to operate transition measures at the prefectural police stations nationwide in the same manner as at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (see Chapter 5, Section 1, 2).

## 4 Encouraging Illegal Foreign Residents to Voluntarily Appear

The Immigration Bureau has made efforts to smoothly and appropriately implement the departure order system, which was started in December 2004. In addition, the bureau has also worked on promotion of active public relations activities in order to encourage illegal foreign residents to voluntarily appear at the regional immigration bureaus (Chapter 5, Section 1, 3).

## 5 Active Exchange of Information with Related Agencies

The Immigration Bureau has been trying to build closer cooperation with the police and other related agencies and to gain greater insight into foreign nationals disguising their purpose of residence and illegal residents through active exchange of information. In addition, the bureau has been making efforts to eliminate serious violations by filing criminal complaints against such violations found through investigation (see Chapter 5, Section 5).
# Chapter 3 Immigration Control Administration in General

## Section 1 ◆Enhancing Countermeasures against Trafficking in Persons

## 1 The Immigration Bureau’s Efforts to Protect the Victims of Trafficking in Persons

Trafficking in persons severely abuses human rights and requires prompt and appropriate responses from a humanitarian perspective as trafficking in persons causes serious emotional and physical damage to the victims, especially to women and children, and recovery from such damage poses great difficulty. Given such circumstances, the government developed an “Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons” in December 2004, aiming at taking comprehensive countermeasures against trafficking in persons in order to achieve close cooperation among the ministries and agencies concerned and promote coordination with the international community for the purpose of promptly and steadily promoting measures toward the prevention and elimination of trafficking in persons and the protection of the victims of trafficking.

The Action Plan clearly states that victims of trafficking in persons are eligible for protection and calls for careful responses to be made in consideration of the different conditions of each victim, while giving due thought to the severe mental and physical pain in which many of the victims find themselves. Regarding the penalties for the perpetrators (brokers and employers), the Action Plan calls for the criminal laws to be amended reflecting the gravity of the crime, and for control measures to be further strengthened. Concretely, the Immigration Bureau has been cooperating with the relevant agencies making efforts to gain a thorough understanding of the situation of the victims, and has also been taking the following measures.

## (1) Amendment of the Immigration Control Act to Protect the Victims of Trafficking in Persons

To provide better protective measures for the victims of trafficking in persons, the Immigration Bureau submitted a bill for Partial Amendment of the Penal Code including partial amendment of the Immigration Control Act to the 162nd Diet session on February 25, 2005. The Diet passed the bill on June 22, 2005, and the amended Act entered into force on July 12, 2005.

Although the Immigration Bureau has been making efforts to protect the victims of
trafficking in persons by flexibly operating the Immigration Control Act, the amendment of the Immigration Control Act clearly stipulates protective measures for the victims of trafficking in persons. Since the amended Act makes it easier for victims to voluntarily report their victimization to the regional immigration bureaus, the government will be able to provide better and more effective protective measures for the victims of trafficking in persons.

## (2) Preventing Trafficking in Persons

The Immigration Bureau has been making efforts to identify the nations that send a large number of overstayers to Japan through analyzing data and strengthening landing examinations, conducting patrol activities in airport transit areas and monitoring and detecting suspect individuals. In addition, the Immigration Bureau has been actively providing a new type of border control by sending experts of forged or altered documents examination to foreign airports as liaison officers (see Section 2, 1(3) below).

## (3) Eradicating Trafficking in Persons

When a case of trafficking in persons is detected, the Immigration Bureau will closely coordinate and cooperate with the National Police Agency and with other related institutions such as the Labor Standards Inspection Offices to strengthen measures to crack down on cases of trafficking in persons. This will be conducted with a view to uncovering the criminal employers and brokers, and investigating the transnational crime organizations behind the scenes.

## (4) Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Persons

The Immigration Bureau has been making efforts to protect victims by flexibly operating special permission to stay and other measures. The bureau has been carrying out measures to help these victims return to their home countries in coordination with the relevant administrative agencies, the IOM and NGOs.

In addition, the bureau enhances its training activities for its staff so that they will be able to raise their awareness and learn more about trafficking in persons.

## (5) Giving Consideration to the Wishes of the Victims of Trafficking in Persons

When interviewing a female foreign national who may be a victim of trafficking in persons, the Immigration Bureau usually arranges for a female member of staff to do the interviewing, and facilitates smoother communication by using an interpreter who speaks the interviewee's native language. In addition, the bureau endeavors to alleviate the interviewee's sense of insecurity by speaking in a friendly manner, and aims to promptly proceed with the
applicable procedures.

Moreover, the Immigration Control Act was amended as mentioned in (1) above, and the Immigration Bureau has been taking appropriate measures, at each victim's wish, in sufficient consideration of the victim's circumstances even if the victim is an illegal foreign resident. For example, the bureau enables such a victim to legally stay in Japan by receiving special permission to stay.

## (6) Number of Victims of Trafficking in Persons in 2005 and Case Examples

The number of victims of trafficking in persons protected (receiving special permission to stay) or supported for return to their home country by the Immigration Bureau totaled 115 (all females) in 2005.

According to the statistics by nationality, the Philippines accounted for the largest number at 47, accounting for 40.8% of all such victims, followed by Indonesia (41 accounting for 35.6%) and Thailand (17 accounting for 14.8%). These three countries accounted for 91.3% of all victims.

Out of the 115 victims, special permission to stay was granted to 47 victims who had violated the Immigration Control Act due to overstaying or other reasons.

68 victims, however, were legal residents staying in Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer” while a further six victims had violated the Immigration Control Act after having been permitted to enter Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer”, and therefore the number of victims of trafficking in persons who entered Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer” totaled 74, accounting for 64.3% of all such victims. (Table 48)

Table 48 Number of victims of trafficking in persons (2005)

(Person)

Nationality	Recognized as a victim of trafficking in persons	Total
Legal resident	Special permission to stay
Philippines	25	22	47
Indonesia	37	4	41
Thailand	0	17	17
Colombia	0	4	4
Romania	4	0	4
China	2	0	2
Total	68	47	115

$ ^{*} $ 68 legal residents stayed with the status of residence of “Entertainer”.
## Amendment of the Criteria for Landing Permission for the Status of Residence of “Entertainer”

It has been pointed out for some time that many foreign nationals who enter and stay in Japan with the status of residence of “Entertainer” work illegally as hostesses or in similar capacities in entertainment establishments, and that some of them have been victims of the international problem of trafficking in persons. The “Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons” was formulated by the government in December 2004. The Action Plan stated that the requirements for a foreign national who intends to engage in entertainment activities, such as theatrical performances, should be revised. Therefore, the Ministerial Ordinance on the Criteria for the Status of Residence of “Entertainer” was partially amended in February 2005.

The Action Plan also stated that other criteria for the status of residence of “Entertainer” should be drastically amended.

Based on such, the Ministerial Ordinance on the Criteria for the Status of Residence of “Entertainer” was amended to require that foreign entertainers who intend to engage in entertainment activities, such as theatrical performances, and the managers and full-time staff of the agencies that conclude performance contracts (contracting agencies) and agencies that run facilities used for such performances have neither been involved in trafficking in persons or illegal employment of foreign nationals, nor have been members of criminal organizations in the past. Moreover, contracting agencies are required to conclude, with foreign entertainers, performance contracts stipulating that they will be obliged to pay a remuneration of 200,000 yen or more per month, and are also required to have paid the entire amount owed from performance contracts concluded in the previous three years (amended on March 13, 2006, and enforced on June 1, 2006).

## Section 2 ◆Promotion of Counter-Terrorist Measures

## 1 Measures for Prevention of Terrorism

## (1) Implementing Stricter Immigration Control

To protect the lives and safety of the general public, it is extremely important to deny entry at the border when terrorists pretend to be tourists in an attempt to enter Japan. After the terrorist attacks upon the United States on September 11, 2001, the Immigration Bureau has been enhancing immigration examinations in order to exclude such terrorists at the border.

In concrete terms, to prevent terrorists from illegally entering Japan and conducting terrorist activities, the Immigration Bureau has been working closely with other related agencies in collecting information on international terrorist behavior and other related information.