Less Official Interference With Tourists Tokyo, May 14. The authorities concerned with the comings and goings of foreigners are studying plans to lessen the inconveniences and annoyances suffered by foreign visitors to Japan.
Since the outbreak of the "China Incident," official vigilance over foreign tourists and residents who travel about the Japanese Empire has been increased considerably, "as a necessary safeguard against espionage activities," it is declared. The work of "supervising" aliens has not been properly ce-ordinated, and the policing agencies overlap. As a result, many foreigners are asked the same questions, over and over again, by different Japanese officials when one properly conducted interview should be enough.
The Foreign Office has received many complaints from foreigners who feel that they have been put through unnecessary ordeals. In one case, a traveller in Korea was questioned five times by officers while making a short trip by train. The questions asked were identical in all cases, and the investigators were satisfied after each interview. The same man, on reaching Japan Proper, was questioned twice between Shimonoseki and Tokyo.
Another source of irritation for foreigners concerns photography. Many visitors to Japan have found themselves in trouble after unwittingly taking pictures in the numerous fortified zones, It is pointed out that Japanese policemen often stand by while amateur photographers snap forbidden pictures, unaware that they are violating regulations, and then arrest them after the act has been committed. In such cases, policemen should advise them beforehand to put away their cameras, high officials believe.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.