Thais denied entry to Japan increases
The number of Thai nationals refused entry to Japan last year reached record levels thanks, in the main, to the visa exemption enforced in 2013, a Japanese newspaper has reported.
The Sankei Shimbun revealed that the number of Thais visiting Japan last year surged by 43 per cent, reaching 681, 743 since the privilege was introduced in July 2013.
Under the visa exemption, Thais are allowed to stay in Japan for 15 days without a visa.
Of that figure, 4,391 individuals were arrested for overstaying the allowed period. The figure, up by 23 per cent over 2013, marked the first increase for Thai nationals in 21 years, since the era of the “bubble economy” back in the early 1990s.
The most frequent reason given by immigration for refusal of entry was “Doubts over the traveller’s stated purpose of entry”. Many Thais were caught out by failing to provide a credible plan for sightseeing activities in Japan, leading inspectors to suspect they were coming to work illegally.
The Sankei noted that last year, 91 Thais were also charged with being in violation of the Refugee Act, more than double the figure for 2013. A highranking police official was quoted as saying he believed that figure was likely to be “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Japan has given high priority to attracting more foreign tourists as one pillar of its economic strategy, with a targeted goal of 20 million annual visitors by 2020. It has been selectively adopting visa waiver programmes for nationals of Asean countries, particularly Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
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