“A broker who had arranged for 40 Chinese nationals to enter Japan by deceiving them as professionals was arrested.”

(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Do-yeon = Japanese media reported on the 28th that brokers and others were arrested by the police on charges of arranging the entry of about 40 Chinese nationals by abusing Japan's 'highly specialized' visa system to attract excellent foreign talent.

The Japanese Metropolitan Police Agency announced on this day that it had arrested three people, including a broker in his 30s and a company executive, on charges of violating the Immigration Control Act.

The broker is suspected of receiving compensation from wealthy Chinese who wanted to immigrate to Japan and arranging the entry of 30 to 40 highly skilled workers.

The Metropolitan Police Agency reported that in order to obtain residency status for a Chinese suspect who was also arrested, this broker submitted an application form to the Tokyo Immigration and Residence Management Bureau between December of last year and January of this year with false information about his educational background and place of employment in Japan, and then allowed the Chinese man into the country as a highly skilled worker.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the broker denies the charges, but the arrested Chinese suspect states that he “paid $600,000 because he heard (from the broker) that he could legally obtain a green card.”

A high-level professional visa is a status of residence for the purpose of employment, and is a system for companies and research institutes to hire excellent professional talent. As of the end of last year, about 32,000 people were staying in Japan with this visa.

The Metropolitan Police Agency is investigating the possibility that the arrested broker may have brought more than 100 people into the country, including not only highly skilled workers but also those with other statuses of residence.