*Top priority of US-VISIT is to speed up passport control in Hawaii

James Williams, Director of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the U.S. VISIT program, visited Japan to explain the program to require passport holders of visa-exempted countries to be scanned their index fingers and taken their facial pictures when they enter the U.S. territories. He said at a news conference on November 18 in Tokyo that the U.S. takes measures for Japanese travels to enter Hawaii more smoothly. Hawaii is regarded as an important destination for the US-VISIT program to Japanese travelers because more than 1.5 million Japanese annually visit there. Williams revealed that he visited Hawaii with DHS Secretary Tom Ridge to discuss smoother passport control procedures with the immigration office of Hawaii.

This Week Headline
*Top priority of US-VISIT is to speed up passport control in Hawaii
+Making efforts to protect privacies of travelers
*JATA makes up an action plan for 20million overseas travelers
+Planning overseas cultural festivals in local cities
+A road map to aim at 17.35 million overseas travelers for 2005
*CJIA decides to collect landing charge of 1,660 yen per ton
*JAL and SKY agree with code-sharing flights on Haneda-Kansai
*More active air traffic between China and Japan than between Japan and the U.S.
*JAA enjoyed large growth of passengers from Taiwan
*UAL will offer double-daily flights on its Narita-LA route
*Kansai gained more international flight passengers for October