Facial Recognition

Chiba Train Line Installs Facial Recognition Ticketing

From The Japan Times:

After registering their face photo data and credit card information in advance on a dedicated website, passengers can board trains, without buying tickets, via cameras installed at the ticket gates at stations that recognize their faces. Passengers with commuter passes can also use the system.

No mention of privacy concerns here at all. Also, with FeliCa-based cards so prevalent in the country, this seems totally unnecessary.

Facial Recognition at Osaka Expo

Kyoko Hariya from Nikkei:

Holders of an all-access pass will be able to use facial recognition by registering their photo and a payment method in advance. The system will enable them to enter the event and make purchases at shops and cafes by just scanning their faces.

The organizer expects the registration of about 1.2 million accounts, making the Expo one of the largest events to use the technology.

If it works, it is interesting tech. I remember the first time I boarded an airplane in Hong Kong with just my face and it felt that I was cheating by not booping my paper ticket on the laser machine. But, as with any biometrics, privacy is the killer app. It takes almost to the end of the article before the p-word is mentioned.