People living in Japan on expired visas kicked off a five-day sit-in Monday in front of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau to protest plans to deport overstaying immigrants en masse on chartered planes this fiscal year.
Reportedly as part of ways to reduce the budget for dealing with overstayers, the Justice Ministry plan would give the boot to about 350 people annually, compared with an annual average of around 150 in preceding years.
Of 62,009 visa overstayers, 3,030 had received deportation orders as of Jan. 1, a ministry report said.