Japan will consider using unique biological data about individuals such as fingerprints and facial features to tighten immigration controls as part of its counter-terrorism policy, government officials said Wednesday. The move would be in line with measures in many other countries, including the United States, which has begun fingerprinting and photographing most visitors from abroad in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Japan has decided to introduce passports with chips containing so-called biometrics information next year, and would look into whether to make use of such data in screening foreign visitors, the officials said. Calls for tighter immigration controls have gained momentum since revelations last month that al Qaeda might have attempted to build a network in Japan. Full Story