Japan to further ease border control ahead Expo 2025 Osaka

Starting this week, three major Japanese airports will introduce new electronic kiosks to streamline immigration and customs checks. This will simplify the current process, which requires passports to be shown multiple times.

Japanese travelers returning to the country, as well as foreign visitors, will be eligible to use the new technology, according to Japan Customs and the Immigration Services Agency. The gates are designed to enhance convenience and reduce processing times.

Users of the one-stop gates, known as joint kiosks, will need to present a passport and a QR code with immigration and customs declaration details registered in advance through the government’s Visit Japan Web platform.

Foreign passport holders visiting Japan will have their faces photographed, fingerprints taken, and documents inspected by immigration officials. Japanese citizens will only need to have their photo taken before proceeding.

Currently, Japanese citizens and foreign visitors must provide information separately to both immigration and customs.

However, an immigration agency official stated that foreign nationals with medium- to long-term residency in Japan will not be eligible to use the kiosks. The units are unable to check data related to the embarkation and disembarkation cards that foreign residents complete when traveling to and from Japan, the official explained.

The gates are being rolled out at Haneda Airport, with plans to expand their use to all Japanese airports with international flights.

The new technology will be introduced at both terminals at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture next Tuesday.

Terminals 2 and 3 at Tokyo's Haneda Airport as well as Terminal 3 at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture, near the capital will begin using the gates next week.

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