Arnie’s Passport Sham


by empire |
Published on

The kind of trouble normally associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger is usually of the violent sort - albeit fictional and on-screen. However, it would seem Arnie's been the subject of hot political debate over his dodgy entry into Japan without his passport last October. Although questionable as to whether in fact the world-renowned star actually requires such a document for identity, law states that if you want to travel, you have to have a valid passport. But on a trip to Japan with director Steven Spielberg, to attend groundbreaking ceremonies for a Universal Studios theme park, Schwarzenegger was caught out when he arrived by private jet at Osaka's Kansai International Airport, at which point he had to inform authorities that his passport had been stolen, which was indeed the case. However, the root of the problem lay not with the star but in fact, the justice minister for Japan, Shozaburo Nakamura, who had failed to submit documents filed by Schwarzenegger regarding passage into the country despite having no passport.

"If I hadn't said yes, I would have been killed by my wife and daughter, who are his fans" Nakamura, whose ministry oversees immigration, admitted in parliament he had kept a form that Schwarzenegger filled out, rather than forwarding it to the appropriate office. But he sharply denied he had held on to the document as a souvenir after a parliamentarian suggested he might have done so. Perhaps not the soundest political quote of his career, Nakamura was quoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper as saying, "If I hadn't said yes, I would have been killed by my wife and daughter, who are his fans" Nakamura also admitted that he and his family were devout fans of the star of such films as Terminator, but he pointed the finger of blame directly at his secretaries, claiming they hadn't sent on the documents as he'd requested. The incident will be the subject of a government investigation - and unsurprisingly, all justice ministry employees have refused to comment on the situation. Brits jailed in Arnie case Planet Hollywood gets tough Arnie for President? Schwarzenegger's Mother Dies Arnie No Time Bomb Schwarzenegger Role Terminated Arnie's Director Quits New Arnie Film Director Found Bond Quote Creates Stir

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