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December 25, 2005
Japan to adopt high-tech passports
In a bid to counter passport forgery, Japan will start issuing on March 20 a new type of passport, which uses an integrated circuit chip containing the holder's facial data.
The introduction will be in line with a revision of the passport law that goes into effect on the day.
For those who apply for passports after that date, IC passports will be issued. Those who already have passports can still use them until the passports' expiration dates, although they may switch to IC passports if they wish, the ministry said.
An IC chip containing the holder's personal data, such as name, birth date, nationality and passport number, will be implanted in a plastic page of the passport that reading devices can touch to confirm the installed data.
Posted by admin at December 25, 2005 08:07 AM