Japanese police will team up with investigators from Britain and elsewhere at the nation's airports to prevent soccer hooligans from entering Japan for the World Cup finals, according to police sources.
Japanese police and spotters from foreign police forces who can identify known hooligans from their countries will wait at arrival gates in plainclothes when international flights arrive, the sources said.
Immigration officials will refuse entry to identified hooligans in accordance with a revision to the immigration law targeting people considered likely to commit violent acts during international competitions.
In Britain, immigration officials will ban travel by some 1,000 people who have been previously convicted of or linked by authorities to soccer-related violence, they said.
In addition to direct flights from countries such as Britain and Germany, flights from Southeast Asia and North America will also be monitored, they said.
"As Japan has no experience in antihooligan operations, it is necessary for us to keep close ties with investigative authorities in Europe and the United States," an official in charge of security said.