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Going To Japan With a Criminal Record Need Advice..

jason7131

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15 Nov 2014
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I'm Going to Japan in April for 2 weeks with a criminal record any advice on weather i should check off No in the disembarkation / embarkment cards where it asks if i was convicted of a crime to avoid possible headaches and issues with immigration? I dont know what information is stored on the fingerprint database. Any updated help will be appreciated thank you.
 
Felony or misdemeanor? Japanese law bars you in the case of a felony conviction.
 
Felony or misdemeanor? Japanese law bars you in the case of a felony conviction.
it shows as a felony when i checked my criminal background online but do they really have that info at the airport i was wondering? It was for drug paraphernalia, not drug possession and that's still a felony in my state
 
Japanese law makes no distinction regarding the nature of the crime. Any conviction punishable by one year or more confinement (a felony) is prevented from entering. I have posted the relevant section of Japanese law in a past similar thread; you can search for it if you like.

I have no idea what information they have access to. You may slip in unnoticed...or you may be refused entry and placed on an outbound plane.

EDIT: See this thread

Exceptions are made for political convictions, but that is all.
 
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i need updated info on anyone who's passed through immigration with a criminal record . All the other threads are old and dont mention personal experiences regarding the fingerprinting portion that's what concerns me
 
There is now a system in place called J-BIS, which checks the fingerprints of both index fingers and a photo of your face against several databases, including Japan Immigration and Interpol, and which gives results in about five seconds.

So if your conviction is on Interpol's database, they would spot it.

I saw on another website that the system is also connected with the US entry point check system and presumably has access to whatever people are blacklisted from the US. I have no idea to what extent data on convictions have been made available for sharing. Why not try to find our if your state's convictions are shared with Interpol?
 
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