Japan ( khalid khan ) A record 318 foreign nationals were forcibly deported with officer escorts in 2025 after refusing to leave Japan voluntarily despite staying illegally.
This figure comes from data released by the Immigration Services Agency.
The increase reflects the agency’s stronger policy to actively remove illegal residents.
On March 11, a detained East Asian man protested loudly after being told he would be deported.
He had previously entered and stayed illegally multiple times and received four deportation orders.
Despite repeated requests, he refused to leave because he wanted to remain with his Japanese wife.
Authorities classified his case as serious and arranged a forced deportation with escorts.
He was later deported from Haneda Airport along with another woman under similar orders.
Officers surrounded him during the flight to ensure compliance.
In total, 7,563 people were deported from Japan in 2025.
About 90% of them left voluntarily at their own expense.
However, those who refuse are deported forcibly with government support.
The number of forced deportations rose from 15 in 2021 to 318 in 2025.
Turkish nationals were the largest group (71), followed by Filipinos (46).
The agency aims to reduce illegal residents, estimated at 68,500, to zero and plans to increase forced deportations to 500 by 2027.
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