{
  "id": 10235328,
  "title": "Japan now has facial-recognition ticket gates, but why aren’t people using them?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/japan-now-has-facial-recognition-ticket-gates-but-why-arent-people",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-27T15:00:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SoraNews24",
    "slug": "soranews24",
    "url": "https://soranews24.com/2026/09/28/japan-now-has-facial-recognition-ticket-gates-but-why-arent-people-using-them/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japan has introduced facial-recognition ticket gates at metro stations, but people aren't utilizing them. The high-tech system, dubbed \"Face Pass,\" aims to speed up passenger flow, reminiscent of the futuristic atmosphere in the anime movie Ghost in the Shell. Seiji Nakazawa, a reporter, discovered the gates at Osaka Metro's Dobutsuen-mae Station, where he initially felt intrigued but also apprehensive about potential issues. The \"Face Pass\" gates resemble airport security checkpoints and can be found at Dobutsuen-mae Station, Namba Station, and the Tobu Tojo Line stations in Tokyo. Seiji noticed that many people seemed hesitant to use the gates, which required registration as an \"eMETRO member\" and the recording of facial image data. This privacy concern, along with an overall reluctance to share personal information, appears to be the reason why the facial-recognition ticket gates have not gained widespread usage.",
  "summary": "New walk-through gates are designed to speed up the flow of passengers, but there’s something tripping them up. With the cyberpunk masterpiece Ghost in the Shell set in the year 2029, we’ve been increasingly looking around us, wondering when the tech in our everyday world will catch up to reflect the high-tech animated worlds on […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Japan's \"Face Pass\" facial-recognition ticket gates introduced at metro stations.",
    "Many passengers hesitant to use gates due to privacy concerns.",
    "Gates resemble airport security checkpoints, found at Osaka, Namba, and Tokyo stations."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}