The Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau is seeking public opinion on the imminent release of private information contained within alien registration documents.
Due to a revision of the Alien Registration Law that will take effect within a year, foreign residents will no longer have their fingerprints taken. But information such as names, addresses, nationalities and passport numbers will be available to the public at local government offices for the first time.
The revised law will allow the registered person, their representative, family members and relatives, as well as government and local public institutions, to ask the head of the local government to release information or copies of registration documents, provided that reasons for requesting the information are accepted.
Lawyers and organizations named in the ordinance who need the information for business reasons will be able to ask for some of the information to be released, and the Immigration Bureau is seeking opinions on which organizations should be included in the government ordinance.
Corporations with public interests, such as municipal treasuries and the Japan Red Cross, are considered as examples, the ministry said.
Opinions can be sent to the Immigration Bureau until Oct. 8 by fax at (03) 3592-7093, or by e-mail to [email protected]
For more information, go to the Justice Ministry's Web site at http://www.moj.go.jp