CHIBA (Japan): (Bernama-Kyodo) Narita International Airport, a major hub serving Tokyo and its vicinity, has been struggling to cope with massive lines formed by travellers opting to use the electronic customs system upon arrival, with those submitting the conventional paper declarations often getting through quicker.
According to Kyodo News, despite the electronic system being promoted by the Japanese government as a means to shorten processing times, the slow-moving lines, especially during peak hours in the late afternoon, have drawn ire and criticism from users.
"We are aware of the crowds and hope to work on improving efficiency," an official from the Finance Ministry's Customs and Tariff Bureau said.
On an afternoon in late February, the line of arriving passengers waiting to get through using the electronic system extended for more than 200 metres at Terminal 2 of Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture.
A male airport employee wearing a green bib was busy guiding people to the end of the queue, informing them it was likely to take over 20 minutes to get through the process.
Under the electronic system, travellers entering the country pass through dedicated checkpoints with a QR code containing customs and immigration details registered in advance on the Digital Agency's Visit Japan Web platform.
The system has been touted for its convenience and efficiency, as it utilises facial recognition software, and registered personal information, such as passport numbers, can be used for subsequent trips.
According to the customs bureau, the electronic system was first introduced on a trial basis at Narita airport in April 2019 as a measure to simplify and speed up arrival procedures amid growing inbound tourism.
It was later officially implemented at Narita and six other major airports, including Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport, Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Fukuoka Airport in southwestern Japan, with annual users ramping up to 16.23 million in fiscal 2024, up from 4.70 million in fiscal 2022.
Around January this year, however, social media was flooded with posts complaining about how slow the line for the electronic customs declaration moved compared to that for those using paper forms.
"It gets especially crowded between 5pm and 7pm when flights land one after another," a customs official said.
The congestion is also exacerbated by the fact that there are only 58 electronic terminals compared to 74 manned counters for paper declarations.
The customs bureau said it hopes to improve the situation by redirecting electronic users to staffed counters during peak hours, as well as increasing the number of new one-stop gates that integrate customs and immigration procedures. - Bernama-Kyodo
