All foreigners, including foreign residents, get fingerprinted and photographed upon entering Japan as a measure aimed at preventing terrorism.
Excluded from this procedure are persons under the age of 16 and a few special groups, such as diplomats and visiting dignitaries.
All foreigners receive a status of residence when entering Japan. There are more than twenty statuses of residence, including “temporary visitor” for tourists, and a range of statuses for students, workers and relatives of Japanese nationals and residents.
Tourists and Business Travellers (Temporary Visitors)
If you are a citizen of one of the over 50 countries (includes Ireland and the UK) with which Japan has a “general visa exemption arrangement”, you need only a valid passport to enter Japan as a “temporary visitor”. Otherwise, you need to obtain a visa before entering the country. Temporary visitors from most countries are allowed to stay for up to 90 days. Temporary visitors are not allowed to engage in any paid activities. However, short term studies at Japanese language schools are permitted.
