Deportation of Foreigners from Japan Up 16 Pct in Jan.-June

Tokyo, Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--The number of foreigners who were deported from Japan in January-June for immigration violations rose 16.5 pct from a year before to 7,892, the Justice Ministry said Friday. The number of people who traveled to Japan to work illegally has been rising amid a rise in the overall number of visitors from overseas, ministry officials said. Of the first-half total, 4,889 people, or 61.9 pct, were deported for working illegally. Of them, 1,366 were employed in the farm sector, 907 in the construction industry and 849 were factory workers. Many of the illegal workers had jobs in Tokyo as well as Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures near the capital. The deportees came from 82 countries and regions, with people from China topping the list, at 2,116, followed by Vietnam, at 2,036, and Thailand, at 1,062. END