South Korean Man Arrested in Japan After 31 Years Illegally
A South Korean national has been arrested in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture for allegedly living illegally in the country for 31 years. Authorities stated the suspect entered Japan in 1993 on a 15-day tourist visa using his brother's passport.
Law enforcement authorities in Japan have arrested an elderly South Korean national residing illegally in the country for approximately 31 years, according to local police reports. The Shizuoka Prefectural Police conducted an investigation based on confidential information received in June, leading to the apprehension of the suspect on Wednesday. Police subsequently made the arrest public on Thursday, highlighting a decades-long immigration case that spanned over three decades.
According to the confirmed details of the case, the unidentified South Korean man originally entered Japan in September 1993. He managed to cross the border by utilizing his brother's passport and obtained a temporary tourist visa that granted him a legal stay of only 15 days. However, rather than returning to his home country upon the expiration of the visa, the suspect chose to remain in Japan unlawfully, evading detection by law enforcement agencies for decades.
Following his arrival and decision to stay past his permitted timeframe, the man settled in Yaizu city, located within Shizuoka Prefecture. To sustain himself during his prolonged clandestine existence, he worked various daily-wage jobs in the local area. Throughout the investigation, law enforcement noted that his extended presence officially became classified as a criminal offense following the implementation of a revised immigration law in the year 2000.
During subsequent police interrogations, the aging South Korean national fully admitted to all the allegations brought against him regarding his unauthorized and protracted residency. His arrest comes at a time when Japanese authorities continue to monitor overstay statistics closely. According to data provided by Japan's Ministry of Justice, the total number of individuals residing in the country with expired visas stood at 68,488 as of January 2026, marking a significant decrease from the historical peak record of 298,646 undocumented residents recorded nationwide back in 1993.
