A South Korean woman entered Japan last April passing through Japan's biometric immigration screening despite her previous deportation record, Justice Ministry officials have said.
The woman has told authorities she went through the screening by placing her fingers over a fingerprint reader after putting a special tape on the fingers that she said was provided by a broker, the officials said Thursday.
The woman was deported in July 2007 for illegally staying in Japan after she worked as a bar hostess in Nagano, according to the ministry.
She was not allowed to re-enter Japan for five years after deportation but the Tokyo Immigration Bureau learned in August, four months after her second entry, that she was again in Nagano, they said.
The woman has told bureau officials she bought a forged passport from a broker and entered Japan via Aomori airport, using the special tape to pass through the screening. There was a record of her passing through the screening at Aomori airport, they said.
The Justice Ministry said it will look into whether such special tape can get by a fingerprint reader.