Japan asks EU to share personal data of flight passengers

Japan has asked the European Union (EU) to share personal data of its air passengers in order to strengthen the country's anti-terror security plan for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, a government official said here on Wednesday.

For the time being, the 28-member European Union, whose policies on privacy protection are very strict, does not contemplate Tokyo's intention to gain access to the information on EU travellers who fly to Japan, EFE news reported.

In return, Japan offers it would also share the records of its civilians who travel to a EU member country, which would allow both parties to verify the information against the 'black list' prepared by its intelligence services regarding suspects with links to terrorist organisations.

National authorities and the airlines have the flight passengers personal information, including their names, passport numbers and national identity documents as well as banking and other information.

This data is checked against those included in the 'black lists' at immigration control points to prevent the entry of suspicious individuals.

The European Union practically bans any transfer of personal data that airlines and other companies posses, and only allows access to travellers personal data to countries that meet their privacy protection criteria.

--IANS

ksk