Four Japanese immigration officers have arrived in Taiwan to help authenticate Japanese passports and visas as part of Japan's efforts to prevent foreign citizens and terrorists from entering Japan illegally, government sources said yesterday.
The four officers began working yesterday at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to engage in visa and passport authentication work.
PHOTO: TONY YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The officers boarded several flights arriving in Taiwan from Japan to screen the travel papers of several Japanese passport holders but found nothing unusual, according aviation police authorities.
It marked the first time that Japan has sent immigration officers to Taiwan to undertake such duties.
Japan and Taiwan have recently forged an agreement on cooperation in travel-document authentication in view of the heightened threat of international terrorism as well as increased cross-border human-smuggling operations, officials said on Saturday.
The Japanese officials are scheduled to stay in Taiwan for four days, during which time they will also give lectures to Taiwanese immigration officials on techniques for authenticating Japanese passports, visas and other travel documents.
Japan is not the first country to take such steps. In the past, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia have sent immigration officers to Taiwan, as Taiwan is seen as a major transit stop for international human-smuggling operations.
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