Amnesty International Japan on Friday called on the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau to stop its recently launched service to field e-mail tips on suspected illegal aliens, saying it promotes racism.
The human rights watchdog said in a statement that the Immigration Bureau is "encouraging reports without any concrete proof."
Immigration officials responded by claiming the service for informants is "simply part of measures to computerize" such information. They added that receiving tips does not mean authorities will immediately move to apprehend suspected illegal residents.
On Monday, the Immigration Bureau introduced a section on its Web site that allows people to send tips on the identity, address or workplace of undocumented foreigners.
On Monday and Tuesday alone, the bureau received tips on about 100 people through the new service. It also asks informants to indicate why they are reporting someone and offers preset options.
Amnesty said the preset options, such as "causing anxiety" or "causing a nuisance to the neighborhood," are unrelated to the offense of staying in Japan illegally and will "fan aversion and anxiety" toward non-Japanese.
Once a report is submitted to the Web site, it is automatically sent to regional immigration bureaus.
Japanese law enforcement authorities are cracking down on foreigners who overstay their visas. In particular, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government wants to halve the number of its illegal aliens in the next five years.
For 2002, the bureau said it received tips on 75,000 people by phone or mail, as well as e-mail forwarded to the ministry.