72-year-old man arrested for overstaying 15-day tourist visa by 26 years
A 72-year-old South Korean man has been arrested for allegedly overstaying his visa in Japan for more than 26 years after a tip was received in June, Shizuoka Prefectural Police said Thursday.
The man came to Japan using his brother’s passport in September 1993 under a 15-day tourist visa, hoping to get a higher-paying job in the country, police said.
He was arrested Wednesday.
The suspect, who lives in the city of Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, appears to have been staying in Japan since 1993. Overstaying in Japan was not a punishable crime until February 2000, when a revised immigration law took effect. Police, therefore, arrested him for allegedly overstaying in Japan since then.
The man, who told investigators he has been working day jobs, has admitted to the charge.
According to the Justice Ministry, there were 68,488 overstayers as of January 2026, significantly lower than in 1993, when the number of overstayers peaked at 298,646.
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