NEC Corporation has won a contract from Japan Customs, under the Ministry of Finance, to install an electronic customs procedure system utilizing face recognition at six major airports in Japan.
The electronic customs procedure system will be installed at the customs inspection areas in New Chitose, Narita International, Haneda, Chubu International, Kansai International and Fukuoka airports. These six airports account for approximately 90% of annual passengers entering Japan.
The system is designed to accelerate the customs procedures at airports, where NEC’s face recognition technology can confirm travelers’ identities when using the system’s electronic declaration terminal and passing through exit gates. Moreover, NEC aims to further accelerate customs procedures by enabling baggage to be reported electronically through the use of smartphone applications.
Going forward, it is expected that the number of international visitors entering Japan will continue to rapidly grow. As part of this, NEC will utilize its cutting-edge biometric technologies to reduce the congestion of customs inspection areas and shorten waiting times.
Operations are expected to commence in March 2020.