The Deportation Process in Japan Step by Step: From Violation Investigation to the Written Deportation Order

A phone call from a detained family member, or an official-looking envelope from immigration, and no clear sense of where in the process you actually stand. We hear this often. Japan's deportation procedure (退去強制手続) is built in layers: each stage has its own officials, its own deadlines and its own openings for argument. Put the other way round, once you know which stage you are at, you can see what is coming next. This article lays out the sequence, from the initial violation investigation through to the issuance of a written deportation order (退去強制令書), so that you can locate yourself on the map.

Key points

• The process runs in this order: violation investigation, violation examination and a finding by an immigration inspector, an oral hearing and determination by a special inquiry officer, an objection to the Minister of Justice and the Minister's decision, and finally issuance of a written deportation order.
• A conviction in a drug case falls under Article 24(4)(chi) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (入管法24条4号チ) as a ground for deportation.
• Article 50(4) provides that special permission to stay (在留特別許可) can be granted only after the person has accepted the finding under Article 47(3) or the determination under Article 48(8), or after the decision under Article 49(3).
• Under Article 50(2), an application for special permission to stay is made by a person detained under a written detention order (収容令書) or by a person placed under supervision measures (監理措置).
• Once a written deportation order has been issued, an application for special permission to stay can no longer be made (Article 50(3)).

First, see the whole process as a single line

The deportation procedure moves through a fixed sequence. Holding that sequence in mind makes the documents that arrive in the post far easier to read.

Immigration control officers carry out a violation investigation. If they conclude that there is a suspected ground for deportation, the case moves to a violation examination before an immigration inspector, who decides whether the person is subject to deportation. If you do not accept that finding, you may request an oral hearing before a special inquiry officer, which ends in a determination. If you do not accept the determination either, you may file an objection with the Minister of Justice, who issues a decision. If, after all of that, the person is still treated as subject to deportation, a written deportation order is issued.

Each of these stages carries its own statutory time limit. Miss the limit and the opportunity to move to the next stage is lost, so make a note of the date on which every document was received.

• 1. Violation investigation (immigration control officer)
• 2. Violation examination and finding (immigration inspector) / Article 47(3)
• 3. Oral hearing and determination (special inquiry officer) / Article 48(8)
• 4. Objection and decision (Minister of Justice) / Article 49(3)
• 5. Issuance of the written deportation order

Which stage am I at right now?

The name of the document you have received, and the job title of the official you spoke to, will usually tell you.

If questioning is still going on, you are at the violation investigation stage. If a written detention order has been presented and the person is in detention, the case is heading towards the violation examination. If you have received a document announcing a finding, the next decision is whether to request an oral hearing. If a determination has been made, the next step is an objection to the Minister of Justice; and if notice of the Minister's decision has arrived, issuance of the written deportation order is close.

The violation investigation and detention stage

The violation investigation establishes whether there is reason to suspect a ground for deportation. In drug cases, a conviction handed down in the criminal process brings the person within Article 24(4)(chi). That provision covers anyone convicted of violating the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act, the Act on Regulation of Cannabis Cultivation, the Opium Act, the Stimulants Control Act, the Anti-Drug Special Provisions Act, or Chapter XIV of Part II of the Penal Code.

What can actually be contested at the examination and the oral hearing?

At these two stages, the question squarely before the officials is whether a ground for deportation exists. Where a conviction is plainly on the record, there can seem to be little room to argue. But where the underlying facts on which the assessment rests are themselves open to doubt, it is worth setting that out carefully.

One issue concerns us in particular here: the place of intent and negligence. Immigration practice has for many years proceeded on the basis that neither intent nor negligence is a requirement when assessing grounds for deportation. In a case concerning deportation on the ground of promoting illegal employment, attorney Daisuke Matsumura is currently pursuing litigation that asks head-on whether the principle of culpability should extend to deportation as an administrative disposition. That litigation is pending, and we do not offer any prediction of its outcome.

In drug cases, there really are situations where a person did not know what was inside a package they were asked to carry, or where the circumstances behind a request to transport goods matter a great deal. Contesting intent thoroughly in the criminal process, and preserving the record of having done so, is what later arguments at this stage are built on. At the oral hearing you may submit evidence and state your position.

The objection, the Minister's decision, and where special permission to stay sits

The Minister of Justice's ruling on an objection is the decision. Special permission to stay has a clearly defined place in this sequence. Article 50(4) provides that special permission to stay may be granted only after the person has accepted the finding under Article 47(3) or the determination under Article 48(8), or after the decision under Article 49(3). In other words, it sits towards the end of the process.

The statute also identifies who may apply. Article 50(2) provides that an application for special permission to stay is made to the Minister of Justice by a foreign national detained under a written detention order, or by a foreign national placed under supervision measures.

As for the substance of the assessment, Article 50(5) sets out the factors to be considered: the reasons the person wishes to remain, family circumstances, conduct, the circumstances in which the person came to Japan, the length of residence in Japan, the person's legal status during that period, the facts giving rise to the ground for deportation, and the need for humanitarian consideration. Under Article 50(10), a refusal must be notified promptly in writing, with reasons.

What families can do at each stage

When the person concerned is in detention, the family's role grows. Family registry and residence records, proof of a child's school enrolment, tax certificates, proof of employment, written statements from relatives. Trying to gather all of this only once the special permission stage arrives usually means running out of time. Start collecting a little at a time, early in the process.

• Keep every document from immigration, together with the date it arrived
• Write down what was explained to the person concerned, each time it happens
• Begin gathering records of family life, employment and tax payments early
• Check which parts of the criminal case file you are able to obtain

How our office works, and matters we have handled

At Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo), attorney Daisuke Matsumura handles the work personally, from the first detention visit through to the immigration proceedings. The point of working this way is to avoid the loss of information that occurs when the case is passed from hand to hand at each new stage.

For Chinese, we have a dedicated interpreter on staff who is experienced in cases involving foreign nationals, so that you have an interpreter working for you rather than one appointed by the investigating authorities. For other languages, including English, we arrange an interpreter to suit the case. Renewals and changes of status of residence (在留資格) after the proceedings conclude are handled together with an administrative scrivener we work with.

Among the matters we have handled: a woman wrongly accused of promoting illegal employment and facing deportation, for whom we obtained special permission to stay in circumstances with no precedent, and in whose case we are pursuing litigation challenging the established practice that intent and negligence are irrelevant to grounds for deportation. In another matter, a client arrested and prosecuted for overstaying obtained special permission to stay after negotiation with the authorities and analysis of previously published grants.

From the outside the deportation procedure looks like one continuous current. In reality it is divided into stages, and knowing where the divisions fall is the same as knowing what to prepare next. Start with something simple: check the date on the last document you received. This article is a general explanation; for your own situation, please consult a lawyer directly. The past matters described here turned on their own particular facts, and no similar outcome can be promised.

This article reflects the law as at August 2026.

About the author

Daisuke Matsumura, Attorney at Law
Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association (registration no. 59077, admitted 2019)
Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
Practice focused on criminal defence for foreign nationals and immigration proceedings.
Results include an acquittal in a Stimulants Control Act case (possession for the purpose of profit), non-prosecution in organised fraud cases, and special permission to stay in cases regarded as difficult.

Funado International Law Office
Website: https://matsumura-lawoffice.jp/
WeChat ID: matsumura1119