Japan's immigration agency had 103 residence card printers go unused: audit

TOKYO - Japan's immigration agency had 103 IC card printers, worth about 56.5 million yen ($363,000), sitting unused at seven regional bureaus after deploying them to produce residence cards for foreign residents, the national audit board said Thursday.

The Immigration Services Agency had not tracked their usage status, and some regional bureaus had even requested additional printers, according to the Board of Audit of Japan. The agency has since established a system to ensure the printers are properly used in response to the findings.