The Fingerprinting Issue

Today, or in the last few days, Japan started fingerprinting all foreigners entering the country. I've been really busy lately, so I haven't been paying too much attention to the whole issue. When I first heard about it, I was a little irritated. Are there terrorism problems in Japan I don't know about? The last incident I remember was carried out by Japanese nationals, so I don't really buy the whole "foreign terrorist" argument. And yeah, crime is increasing here, but I have a hard time believing that criminals are dying to get into Japan to enter the lucrative drug-selling ring.

As an American, it's hard for me to sit here and say that the fingerprinting is wrong and it should stop. After all, my own country does it and I think it's necessary and justified. So, I won't. But it seems that there are problems here for foreigners that are bigger than this. Have you ever tried to get an apartment here without company or a citizen's support? It's ridiculous. I don't know, fingerprinting is thee issue of the day with good cause, but there are others that should be discussed more seriously.

I just don't want those to be lost in the discussion.