Visitors to Japan face fingerprinting and photographing when they land as part of a crackdown on terrorists.

A Frenchman believed to be linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network may have been in Japan during the 2002 World Cup finals, when the country was on alert for a possible terror strike, a Japanese newspaper said.

FRESH evidence about possible links between the al-Qaida terrorist network and Ireland have emerged from an investigation by police in Japan.

Japanese police today arrested four people in raids on homes and businesses linked to a Frenchman suspected of al-Qaida connections.