A Thai teenager born and raised in Japan lost an appeal on Tuesday against a lower court ruling that upheld his deportation order, highlighting the country's deep reluctance to accept non-Japanese people, even as its population ages and shrinks.
The Tokyo High Court ruled that Utinan Won, a 16-year-old high school student living without a visa, should leave Japan. Won's mother had already left Japan after lower court judges said her son could win residency if she returned to Thailand.
"Of course I want to stay in Japan," Won told reporters after the ruling. "I'd waited so long for this decision. I'm so sad and pained that it was made so quickly."