RFID in Japan has several interesting stories this weekend:

One about the Japanese goverment’s plan to open in April 2007 a high-tech prison in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Windows won’t have iron griddles, but will be made of tempered glass. Prisoners will wear a jacket with an attached RFID tag and security guards will be able to follow their whereabouts on a screen.

The other news is that Japan Airlines is about to roll out the JAL IC Check-in Service to allow travellers to use RFID-chipped FeliCa “wallet phones” or RFID cards to make a simple “touch-and-go” check-in for their flight.

At home, traveller select their seat and check-in using a PC or a mobile phone. At the airport, thay can go straight to a security gate (no need to check-in), show your phone or RFID card to get a “passenger copy” and “touch-and-go” through a gate machine when boarding..

This service was already introduced in some airports and will be available at 44 major airports across Japan next week.