Oct 22 (NHK) - More than 10,000 foreigners were denied entry to Japan last year. It was the first time in 12 years that the number has exceeded this figure.
The Immigration Services Agency of Japan said 10,647 people were denied entry, up 1,468, or 16 percent, from the previous year.
As a reason for denial, the largest number of 8,890 people, or about 80 percent of the total, were rejected due to suspicion over their purpose of entry.
Those people reportedly said they wanted to enter Japan for purposes including sightseeing, but in reality, they planned to work illegally in the country.
By country, people from China topped the list with 3,765, 1.8 times the previous year.
People from Thailand were1,398 and those from Turkey were 925.
People from the three countries accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total.
The agency says the number of people denied entry has been increasing along with a surge in the number of entries in recent years.
It says it will conduct strict screening to prevent foreign people from working illegally in Japan.
