Permanent resident or not, you'll be lining up

Although Japan did away with fingerprinting of foreign long-term and permanent residents some years ago, the practice is about to make an intrusive reappearance as of November 23, 2007. A 2006 Immigration law will come into effect that will require EVERYONE other than "special long-term residents" (meaning 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans) to join the tourist line at immigration and undergo fingerprinting and retinal scanning. While such procedures are used elsewhere for tourists, in Japan, even people who have been resident for decades, will, as foreigners have to stop using the Japanese entry lines at immigration and switch to the visitor ones. Those with Japanese families will not be exempted. Nor, apparently, will aircrew. ***Ed: We're sure that as this comes into effect, there will be a big stink among the senior businesspeople in the foreign community and from the various Chambers of Commerce. We hope the foreign press will also carry news of Japan's retrograde treatment of its foreign residents, because this procedure offers no differentiation between a tourist just in for a week of fun and a foreign Mom or Dad who has a Japanese national spouse and kids, and who owns land and pays taxes here.** (Source:TT commentary from immi-moj.go.jp, Sep 25, 2007)
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/keiziban/happyou/Outline_070925.pdf