Travel News - USA TODAY: Japan to X-Ray shoes.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-04-27-japan-xrays_x.htm

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan on Tuesday joined the United States and European nations in X-raying passengers' shoes at airports as it boosted anti-terrorism measures ahead of a peak holiday travel season. "We will advise travelers to arrive at airports 30 to 60 minutes earlier than usual to prepare for random X-ray checks on shoes." "It is the first time for such checks to be carried out in Japan. It will be indefinitely continued beyond the Golden Week," an official at the ministry's risk management office said.

Comments: This is very interesting and I look forward to the search. Japan is very efficient and thourough. Maybe the TSA can learn something from the Japanese on how to do it correctly and respect the passenger at the same time. Maybe even provide TSA approved slippers so our socks and feet don't have to touch the dirty floor at the US airports.

Looks like idiocy is catching. I bet the US bullied them into this asinine decision. Too bad the people in charge of the TSA are such sicko shoe fetishists...

Stick a pair of flip-flops (shower shoes, thongs, whatever you want to call them) in your carry on bag.

Remove and put them on before sending your bag and shoes through the scanner.

For good measure, you might want to remove your socks and send them through with your shoes! :rolleyes:

Is there a shoe test to make sure there are no biological/chemical weapons in them? :rolleyes:

Based on the smell of some feet on the plane, I know there have to be WMDs somewhere in those shoes. Perhaps Pres. Bush should allocate security and intelligence resources to check shoes for bio-/chemical WMDs. Where's that Iraq Survey Group? Shouldn't it be in Japan? :rolleyes:

Vote Bush 2004 .... if you want America to lose.

Vote Kerry 2004 ... if you want America to win. :)

Pretty soon these mental defective sickos will issue a mandate requiring random checks of people's butts, too.

"WMD?"

"Almost. Taco Bell. He can go."

Regime Change 2004

Pretty soon these mental defective sickos will issue a mandate requiring random checks of people's butts, too.

"WMD?"

"Almost. Taco Bell. He can go."

Regime Change 2004

Be careful what you wish for. Body cavities hide drugs often; and one day they are going to hide explosives in there too.

Then it will be time for new technology so that the TSA can get their jollies from looking at people's private parts. ;)

"Coming to an airport in your neighborhood soon." :rolleyes:

What a shame. Going through screening at NRT and not being forced to de-shoe was a pleasure.

But I'm sure they'll be polite about it. ICN provided me a clean pair of shoes when they de-shoed me and even then seemed quite apologetic about the hassle.

Looks like idiocy is catching. I bet the US bullied them into this asinine decision. Too bad the people in charge of the TSA are such sicko shoe fetishists...

Ironically the article refers to shoe inspections being done at European airports as well.

I fly to / through / from Europe on a regular basis and have never had to remove my shoes to walk through a metal detector. On rare ocassion a screener might view my shoes while they are still on my feet, but that is rare.

As far as shoe removal I only had to do that once in Europe and it was for an ICTS nazi during a random check during boarding a US bound flight.

For those not familiar with ICTS, they are a private security firm contracted by US based carriers in Europe to provide additional security on US bound flights. They typically carry-out passenger interviews and do random gate screening. Only US based carriers flying from Europe to the US are required to provide this extra "security" thanks to our gummint.

If you fly a non-US based carrier you don't have to deal with that -- just airport security, unless the carrier you are flying requires something additional as part of their policy.

Ironically, from what I understand some overseas carriers do not trust the TSA and have implemented additional gate screening similiar to what ICTS does -- but has implemented the extra screening here in the states to board their aircraft.

As far as actual airport security at the European airports I use, they do a good job and I don't have to deal with any of the "TSA-like non-sense". Every once and awhile an ICTS agent might go a bit overboard, but it's the exception and not the norm.

Intra-European flights are a breeze -- easier than flying around here in the states domestically (especially within the Schengen zone).

SDF_Traveler

From the start I was angry and said I wasn't going to take my shoes off. It was suggested that they wouldn't let me fly if I didn't. There has been several times where I've seen the people in front of me take theirs off and I don't and the screeners don't have a problem with that. I think it is very unsanitary to be forced to walk through the checkpoint in bare or stocking feet. I think that if they need to screen the shoes, they let you sit in a chair, hand them the shoes to run them through and give them back before you walk through. This seems logical to me, walking through barefooted doesn't and that reminds me of the old jokes about everyone flying naked. :mad:

Welcome to Flyer Talk!

not sure why they say this is new -- I had to take my shoes off at NRT in October '03. I also got an extra ten minutes of interrogation around a dead laser pointer I was carrying in my briefcase - of course, none of the screeners spoke enough English to understand my explanation. In the end it was dead anyway, so I just gave it up.