Japanese hit at NZ passport standards

A New Zealand passport-holder arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of inflicting injury has been held up as an example of lax standards in this country allowing potential criminals to obtain "clean" passports.

Japanese officials told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that it was "relatively easy" to immigrate to New Zealand because it had a labour shortage.

The 35-year-old man was arrested in August after an incident in Tokyo in November 2004 involving an Iranian and a drug transaction.

The "New Zealander" turned out to be an Iranian immigrant who obtained a genuine New Zealand passport using a false name, Asahi Shimbun reported.

He had already been caught twice before in Japan for immigration violations. He was deported to Iran in 1995 for overstaying a visa and returned with a forged Iranian passport.

After being deported again in July 1997, he immigrated to New Zealand using a false name, was given a valid New Zealand passport, and used it to re-enter Japan in May 2003.

Police said they had noticed several cases of Iranian citizens apprehended in drug cases making their way back to Japan using valid passports after they had been deported.

One common method was that used by the New Zealand passport holder, to emigrate to a third country, obtain a "valid" passport under a false name and return to Japan.

- NZPA