and deportation department. Also, it has strengthened the detection and detention system by adding one senior immigration security officer for detection and detention respectively, and organized the system to ensure proper and prompt processing of violations by adding one senior examiner in charge of oral proceedings in the examination department.

Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau also established an accounting section, and assigned a director and an assistant director to cope with the sharp increase of accounting work that was formerly handled by the general affairs section, and built up a system that can exclusively engage in the direction and supervision of accounting work including the normalization of contractual methods.

Further, most branch offices (including branch offices of district immigration offices) of regional immigration bureaus were located within the area of seaports, based on the historical background that they were originally established for immigration examination of crew members and passengers on ocean-going vessels. Now, as the primary means of international transportation shifted from vessels to aircraft, immigration examination at airports became the main service, and as foreigners residing in Japan for a long time increased, the Ministry has proceeded to reorganize, integrate or scrap branch offices at seaports to respond to the foregoing change in administrative needs, and made efforts to reallocate branch offices by establishing them at local airports where many international flights arrive, places where prefectural offices are located, and other major cities. (Table 52)

Table 52 Reorganization, integration or scrapping of branch offices of regional immigration bureaus

(As of April 1, 2009)

Division Fiscal Year	Scrapping	Integration
Name	Location	Name	Location
2000	Amagasaki Port Branch Office Kure Port Branch Office Karatsu Port Branch Office Imari Port Branch Office	Amagasaki City Kure City Karatsu City Imari City	Saga Branch Office	Saga City
2001	Yokosuka Port Branch Office Kagoshima Airport Branch Office Shimizu Port Branch Office Tagonoura Port Branch Office	Yokosuka City Mizobe-cho Air-gun Shimizu City Fuji City	Shizuoka Branch Office	Shizuoka City
2002	Iwakuni Port Branch Office Yatsushiro Port Branch Office Hitachi Port Branch Office Kashima Port Branch Office	Iwakuni City Yatsushiro City Hitachi City Kamisu-cho Kashima-gun	Kofu Branch Office Gifu Branch Office Otsu Branch Office Mito Branch Office	Kofu City Gifu City Otsu City Mito City
2003	Tokyo Port Branch Office Shibuya Branch Office Muroran Port Branch Office Miyako Port Branch Office Ofunato Port Branch Office Ishinomaki Port Branch Office Sasebo Port Branch Office Naha Port Branch Office	Koto-ku Tokyo Shibuya-ku Tokyo Muroran City Miyako City Ofunato City Ishinomaki City Sasebo City Naha City	Shinjyuku Branch Office Morioka Branch Office	Shinjyuku-ku Tokyo Morioka City
2004	Aomori Port Branch Office Hachinohe Port Branch Office Yokohama Port Branch Office Nagoya Port Branch Office Sakai Port Branch Office Kobe Port Branch Office Mizushima Port Branch Office Shibushi Branch Office	Aomori City Hachinohe City Yokohama City Nagoya City Toyoyama-cho Nishikasugai-gun Aichi Sakai City Kobe City Kurashiki City Shibushi-cho Soo-gun Kagoshima	Aomori Branch Office	Aomori City
2005	Naoetsu Port Branch Office	Joetsu City
2007	Osaka Port Branch Office Tennoji Branch Office	Osaka City Osaka City	Tobu Branch Office	Edogawa-ku Tokyo