There are times in Japan, luckily not too often, that I feel like a criminal just for being a foreigner.
I forgot to tell you that when I came back from my trip to Japan, I was asked by police to produce my alien card. It was a first for me. Of course I had to show my "Certificate of Alien Registration" in immigration, that was expected. But later, as Wayne and I were waiting for our train, outside of the the airport, we and other foreigners waiting were asked to produce our cards again, this time to different officials. The police officer then interviewed me for about ten minutes as he took down all my details and also asked to see my passport and visa.
I believe that years ago when gaijin applied for their alien cards, they were fingerprinted. This was stopped a number of years ago, sometime before I first came here in 1999. Well it seems like it's back! Not only for foreigners planning on staying for an extended period, but anyone entering the country. Mel gave me the heads up and you can see more about it here. By the way, make sure to say "Cheese"!
