Gov't to conduct body scanning experiment at subway station in Tokyo

That's a big fat no thank you.

Not an expert of course, but to detect anything at that kind of range/speed, aren't these scanners going to have to use fairly high-energy x-rays? (internet tells me that the maximum range of airport body scanners is approx 1m)

For most people, flying is not an everyday thing so body scanners at airports are a non-issue, but if in the future we are going to be scanned at every ticket gate, that means multiple scans per day. Not all airport scanners use x-rays nowadays, but the ones which don't require you to hold up your arms and wait there for 5-10 seconds while they scan you.

Extremely skeptical of the usefulness of this. Probably more to "reassure" the public that measures are being taken but keeping them in the dark that it's all pretty much useless.

Given the utter lack of protections for civil liberties in this country, this is disconcerting.

So, if this testing is a result of problems on the Shinkansen...why are they doing scanning on Tokyo Metro? Why not scan passengers traveling on the Shinkansen? And, why Kasumigaseki Station? It's likely a "showcase" for the polies, though no high-ranking politician is taking Tokyo Metro.

Just sink in that radiation from the scans, all for tax money wasted purposes

Think it will be easier for everyone to just walk around b# naked ? Think again , they just might introduce proctologists !! So just give it up guys and dolls.

They've been getting ideas from Airplane..

So when they decide to make this mandatory, which they will, what happens to the laws that prohibit unlawful searches?

Ah, that's right, the authorities do not care and already routinely break them.

Hope you like your dystopian police state folks, this is just the beginning. These will likely be in place and mandatory to go through by 2020 and laws will be put into effect for "Olympic safety"

What an awful shame for a democracy to fall like this.

Hope you like your dystopian police state folks, this is just the beginning. These will likely be in place and mandatory to go through by 2020 and laws will be put into effect for "Olympic safety"

Agree, paradoxbox. Once installed, it never goes away.

Ah, but just imagine if such a system had detected vinyl bags of sarin and sharpened umbrellas.

Oh, no, wait a minute. It would not have helped at all.

Everything I hate about this idea has been covered by the posters above. I will confine myself to a single NO, and no, no, no, no, NO!!!!!!!!!!

paradoxbox, there is no such thing as "unlawful search".

Expensive, intrusive, disruptive and, most importantly, useless.

Great! We're all gonna get cancer. Thanks Japan!

has decided to ban unwrapped knives on trains from April

Um, they aren’t banned already?

These scanners can show your naked body in intricate detail. Stored for years on doubious unprotected hard drives.

Yay. Maybe they'll use the same company that TSA did - Rapiscan (seriously, look it up). That is the company's/product's real name. Someone either failed marketting or was looking for a laugh.

I hope the particular ticket gates not to be more conjusted with people avoiding the canning camera.By the way, who will deal with the passerngers with suspicious items if such people are detected at the same time?

So they install they system. Then they see some 280-pound gaijin sauntering into the subway station with a whatever under his jacket. Then what? They have 6 meetings to decide who and how to approach him? By then he's gone.

Dumb & then DUMBER!

Its bad for yourhealthto be xrayed.No need to have it happening daily

Stupid govt always does stupid things, as simple as that. The best solution is go back to monkey era, without human clothing.

I wonder what they'd said once they discover the 35cm in by bag, along with an ice axe and other mountain guiding equipment I sometimes carry.

Its okay so long as it doesn't delay the rush onto the cramped trains. Add a delay, then you're likely to get a unwelcome response from a Society that is focused upon being on time...

A small price to pay. Once they find an efficient and effective system, then everyone will be happy. Or would people prefer the alternative?

Japan, overall, has been pretty lax in many areas regarding security, using the Olympics as an excuse, gives the government the opportunity to implement more ways to monitor and control society in the future under the guise of security.

I just wonder what excuse the government is going to use AFTER the Olympics?

Multiple scans over a prolonged period will add up to more cancers!

"A small price to pay. Once they find an efficient and effective system, then everyone will be happy. Or would people prefer the alternative?"

The alternative you are talking about is to continue life as normal. I prefer that.

I don’t trust the government with this at all. I also think the perverts will have a field day. My prediction is that there will be a “naked x-Ray scandal” which will surface in a few years after the olympics (of course).

So, only certain gates will be used for the trial, yes? And they will be clearly marked? If so, will passengers avoid these because they'd prefer not to get scanned, leading to increased congestion at the other gates during rush hour? Or, will some Taros decide to take one for the team just to save a few seconds during their morning commutes? I wonder what kind of disruption this will cause to station operations.

And when you do have to carry something properly wrapped up, will they stop you and make you unwrap it and then will the burden of proof fall upon you, who are in a rush, to have to argue over the definition of 'wrapped'?

I meant 35cm long "saw" above.

The results of this will be interesting because if the ability to perform highly reliable scans at high volume stations like those in Tokyo without causing to much delay - these machines could be introduced worldwide reducing risks to travellers