Three Japanese nationals were among the 475 people detained in a recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at the construction site of a Hyundai Motor-related battery plant in Georgia, it was learned Tuesday.
On Friday, ICE announced it had carried out a large-scale raid at the battery plant site. The detainees, including more than 300 South Koreans, are suspected of illegally working or staying in the United States, the agency said.
"The Japanese Consulate-General in Atlanta is collecting information to grasp the situation, including through consular meetings, and will continue to respond appropriately from the viewpoint of protecting Japanese nationals," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
According to informed sources, the Japanese nationals were dispatched to the electric vehicle battery plant currently under construction by Hyundai in collaboration with South Korea's LG Energy Solution. They are employees of a Japanese industrial machinery manufacturer that produces battery electrode coating machines.
The South Korean government plans to charter aircraft to repatriate its nationals, according to South Korean media. The detained Japanese nationals may be flown out of the United States together.
It is believed that Chinese nationals were also among the detainees.
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