Nineteen Chinese women who were brought to Japan by gangsters after being married off to homeless Japanese men have been stripped of their residency status, immigration authorities said Thursday.
All 19 women, including two who have been arrested, will be deported, the authorities said.
A Japanese group led by Shosuke Kawano, a 59-year-old former high-ranking gangster, teamed up with a Chinese group based in Shanghai to process the marriages, according to investigations.
Kawano and his group allegedly picked up homeless Japanese men from the streets of Tokyo and forced them to visit China to marry Chinese women. The women were then brought to Japan as the men's wives.
The two groups arranged 139 marriages between early 2000 and June 2001, when their scheme was uncovered, the authorities said, adding that Kawano is currently on trial over charges he made false entries in official documents.