Three relatives of Mongolian sumo grand champion Asashoryu have been detained for illegally working at a factory in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, police and immigration sources said Saturday.
The two men and a woman in their 20s and 30s were among around a dozen people detained earlier this month on suspicion of illegally working at the factory, the sources said, adding they are expected to be deported to Mongolia soon.
Asashoryu acknowledged Saturday the three are his relatives. "I became their guarantor as they said they will be studying (in Japan). I left them with an acquaintance in Shizuoka Prefecture," he told reporters in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
The three arrived in Japan to attend Asashoryu's wedding, which was held at a Tokyo hotel Aug. 31, and then started working at the factory, according to the sources.