A few weeks ago I wrote about the inaccurate claim that Japanese law requires all foreigners (not just those traveling without an address in Japan) to submit their passports for copying when staying at a hotel. As reported on Debito.org, the Nikkei Asian Review has “corrected” their article. I put the word “corrected” in quotation marks because, as one of the readers of Debito.org pointed out, the Nikkei Asian Review merely deleted the incorrect passage; they did not issue a correction statement.
I wonder how they got it wrong in the first place. My suspicion is that the police are, either intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresenting the law.
I also know from my experience managing this page that articles of this kind get most of their traffic immediately after they are issued. So, merely deleting the offending passage does very little to correct the misunderstanding that was created. Perhaps I need write to them again . . . sigh . . .
– Kirk
