Photo by © ANN via
The Star
Pre-reading questions:
- In your own opinion, what is the most useful technology?
- Have you ever tried face scanning device before? How was the experience?
Vocabulary:
- fiscal /FIS-kuhl/
[adjective] the financial year 2010, etc
The government employees will have a meeting on July 18th about the fiscal year.
- microchip /MAHY-kroh-chip/
[noun] a chip
There are built-in microchips inserted to some animals for study purposes.
- departure /dih-PAHR-cher/
[noun] the act of leaving a place, or a flight, train, etc.
He had to wait for few hours before his departure for Japan.
- guarantee /gar-uhn-TEE/
[verb] to promise that something will happen or exist
She guaranteed her life-time commitment to their marriage.
- strengthen /STRENGK-thuhn/
[verb] to make something stronger or more effective
We have to strengthen our military troops in preparation for war.
Japan will begin to use facial recognition technology for departing foreign visitors from fiscal 2019. The new system will be available at Haneda airport in Tokyo before transferring to other big airports including Chiba, Osaka, Fukuoka, Aichi, Hokkaido, and Okinawa prefectures. Foreigners have to place their passports over an electronic scanner and position themselves close to a camera attached to the immigration counters for facial scanning. The system will then identify the passport photo data encoded on microchips and the picture taken at the counter. Once the system confirms the match, the departure is approved. An official at the Immigration Services Agency hopes that the new process will lessen long queues at the counters and will allow immigration staff to do more duties. Moreover, a senior ministry official guaranteed that there would be no cases of misidentification in using the new technology.
Some parts of the country’s airports have been using the scanner since 2007. It is just this year when the immigration authorities decided to apply the same system to departing foreign travelers to improve security. The ministry hopes that the system will strengthen anti-terrorism measures in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the number of foreign visitors reached 31.19 million in 2018 and is seeking to achieve 40 million by 2020.
Comprehension Questions:
- The new facial recognition system will be available first in what airport?
- In the article, what photos are needed for the system verification?
- What did the senior ministry official guarantee based on the article?
- Since when has Japan been using the facial scanner?
- How many foreigners visited Japan in 2018?
Discussion Questions:
- In your opinion, how important is facial recognition system to departing foreigners?
- Do you think the new technology will ease departure processes at the airport? Why or why not?
- Do you think other countries would use the same technology in the future? Why or why not?
- What are the disadvantages of using facial recognition system? Explain your answer.
- If you could invent your own technology, what would it be? Tell me more.
[adjective] the financial year 2010, etc
The government employees will have a meeting on July 18th about the fiscal year.
[noun] a chip
There are built-in microchips inserted to some animals for study purposes.
[noun] the act of leaving a place, or a flight, train, etc.
He had to wait for few hours before his departure for Japan.
[verb] to promise that something will happen or exist
She guaranteed her life-time commitment to their marriage.
[verb] to make something stronger or more effective
We have to strengthen our military troops in preparation for war.
Some parts of the country’s airports have been using the scanner since 2007. It is just this year when the immigration authorities decided to apply the same system to departing foreign travelers to improve security. The ministry hopes that the system will strengthen anti-terrorism measures in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the number of foreign visitors reached 31.19 million in 2018 and is seeking to achieve 40 million by 2020.