Good News for Tourists to Japan at Airports

Traveling is fun but the traffic congestion at the customs is sure bothersome. Japan is no exception. On top of the language barriers, I admit our customs are not efficient enough.

Now, the Ministry of Justice is about to make an adjustment to the current practice at the customs in such a way that foreign visitors to Japan can access "Biocart" to clear entry routines by themselves.

"Biocart" is a mobile device mounting a camera/monitor and a fingerprint reader to collect and transmit data to the customs booths to save your time. The ministry installs 80 units of the cart at three busier air terminals at Kansai International, Naha and Takatsu where there is not enough space to expand for the customs areas and more to follow in other terminals.

Meanwhile, the 4 international air terminals at Narita, Haneda, Chubu International and Kansai International are equipped with automated gates to clear entry/reentry routines but this is only for Japanese nationals and foreign residents in Japan. The ministry is relaxing rules this time to accept foreign nationals who frequent Japan over several times a year. So, I suggest you register yourself at your first visit and avail yourself of this service from your second visit on.

So, as you can see, Japanese air terminals are a lot easier to access - "Biocart" and automated gates. The government had earlier targeted less than 20 minutes to be the maximum waiting time for inbound tourists at the customs, but as of this writing it's taking 26.5 minutes - a little shy of the target. The ministry is budgeting12.8 billion yen this year 2016 to help speed up customs processes.

In 2015 a total of 19.75 million tourists visited Japan or an increase of 47% over the previous year. The government targets 30 million in years to come and foresees more than enough tasks to clear the target.

Rest assured folks - the heavier the load, the worthier the effort.