immigration control from entering the country, we have been collecting new information which is effective in immigration control, and moreover, the 2014 amendment of the Immigration Control Act has enabled the Immigration Bureau since January 1, 2015 to request the airline companies to provide reports on passenger name records (PNR), and moreover from January 1, 2016, it has become possible to electronically receive the PNRs via the NACCS. We will be striving to prevent the entry at the border of terrorists and other foreign nationals who pose a problem in terms of immigration control and to achieve smooth and prompt landing examinations for problem-free foreign nationals through the utilization of the PNRs.

## ② Reinforcement of Information Collection and Analysis

Stricter border measures are required more than ever of the Immigration Bureau owing to the increasingly more serious terrorist situation such as the occurrence of acts of terrorism all around the world, including the series of terrorist attacks in Paris, France in November 2015, and with the upcoming hosting of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.

Meanwhile, due to various measures being implemented to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country and the continuing trend of the increasing number of foreign visitors coming to Japan, it is necessary to achieve the intricate balance of strict immigration control, including measures to prevent terrorism, and also smooth landing examinations to realize Japan as a tourism-oriented country.

Therefore, the “Center of Collection and Analysis of Intelligence” was established on October 1, 2015 as a central agency to collect and analyze information in the field of immigration control. Using this center, the Immigration Bureau is able to implement strict border measures by promoting information-sharing among the relevant organizations in Japan and other countries, conducting sophisticated analysis using the information, and by having the regional immigration offices such as those at the airports utilize the results of the analyses.

In addition, since the utilization of facial images is crucial in border measures against terrorism, the center collects facial images, etc. pertaining to individuals connected to terrorism and provides the information to the front-line organizations at the border such as the airports.

## ③ Patrol Activities at Airports and Seaports

In fact, there have been some cases of illegal entry into a third country misusing the transit areas (special areas made available in international airports, consisting of areas through which those who enter the country by airplane move until they reach the landing examination site, and places where those who are making airplane connections can stay before they go onboard) in Japanese major airports.

Accordingly, the immigration control officers monitor and detect suspicious individuals by reinforced organizational patrols, in the transit areas of Narita Airport and other major airports.

In addition, there is a concern that illegal entry cases using vessels to smuggle those who have been deported from Japan in order to avoid landing examination utilizing biometric information, would increase.

Owing to the possibility that terrorists or other related persons, etc. may be hidden among the foreign nationals who have illegally entered Japan, in order to deal appropriately with these cases, mobile teams composed of immigration control officers (mobile teams for Kita-Nihon (northern Japan), Tokyo Bay Chiba, Tokyo Bay Yokohama, Naka-Nihon (central Japan), Kobe and Nishi-Nihon (West Japan)) have been assigned to the regional immigration bureaus in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, and the border measures have been strengthened. These mobile teams gather, analyze and share information