b) Decrease of Illegal Immigration
Although up until May 1999 a high frequency of incidents occurred exhibiting a trend in which the previous year's figures were surpassed, incidents of illegal immigration became sporadic in the latter half of 1999 and reduced significantly compared to the first half, representing the current trend.
However, the situation continues to be unpredictable owing to ever-present disparities of income, which serve as the greatest reason for illegal immigration, and the continued existence of the transnational illegal immigration contract organization, Snake Head, which mediates in illegal immigration, for example.
2] Prevention of Illegal Immigration
a) The Importance of Acquiring Information
As can be seen of late, it is essential to acquire highly reliable and rapid information in advance, and necessary to respond based on the information when uncovering criminal acts, including those utilizing specially designed hidden compartments inside ships, and those involving the inconspicuous transfer of illegal immigrants and landing, which pass through the eye of the control net.
b) Future Countermeasures
JCG is devoting itself to rendering information acquisition from a larger segment of the Japanese people useful in order to control illegal immigration which is being carried out systematically and premeditatedly and whose nature is increasingly deteriorating and becoming more sophisticated. It is doing this by conventionally requesting the provision of information on people involved with maritime affairs and people living along the coast, for example, and also by promoting the use of the '118' emergency dial to JCG, which has been newly introduced and requires no dialing code.
