A non-Japanese suspect on a wanted list departed Japan from Kansai International Airport in late September due to an immigration control officer's failure to recognize the wanted information, the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau said Thursday.
Police usually report information about suspects under an arrest warrant to immigration offices so the computer system automatically detects the warrant information when they check passports at immigration control.
According to the regional immigration bureau, an officer at the immigration control booth checked the suspect's passport and information about the warrant appeared on a computer screen. But when the officer moved him to an immigration office to pursue the case further, another officer failed to notice the information and let the man go.
The bureau did not disclose the nationality of the suspect and details of the suspect's warrant. It said it will take action to prevent similar mistakes from happening again and improve the screening system by boosting manpower at checkpoints.