Thursday, March 20, 2008
(7:16 AM) | Amish Lovelock:
Negri Can't Come Here!
Negri can't come here!He was due to come to Tokyo this month as part of the International House of Japan's much awaited inviting-foreign-lecturers program thingy on a normal tourist visa - as often professors on lecture tours do. The House apparently got a phone call from the Foreign Office with words to the effect that due to a tightening of immigration regulations if Mr Negri were to come for his lecture tour on a tourist visa it would be highly likely that he would be refused entry to the country. Negri apparently proceeded forthwith with the Japanese Embassy in Paris to get an entry visa. However, the Embassy informed him that they could not issue him a visa without permission from the Foreign Office. The Immigration Bureau then informed him that he has been refused entry on account of a lack of an "official explanation" regarding previous alleged "political crimes."
Japanese immigration law states that any person who has broken either the law of Japan or any other sovereign state and who has spent more that 1 year in jail can freely be refused entry to the country. So-called "political crimes" are an exeption as long as there has been some form of "official explanation." As far as the Immigration Bureau is concerned as long as such "official explanation" or "proof" has not been provided there will be no entry granted. In Negri's letter to those in Japan who were waiting for his arrival he states that he had been inquiring into immigration matters at least half a year ago and that it was only 3 days ago (March 17th) that he received news that he needed a visa. Also that in 5 years going to over 22 countries this has never happened to him before.
