Overstaying in Japan: Why the Interpreter Matters, and How the Investigator's Interpreter Differs from Your Own

You have stayed in Japan past the expiry of your period of stay. One day a police officer or an immigration control officer asks you to explain yourself. Or you report yourself and find you are sitting in front of an immigration officer. Either way, an interpreter sits between you and the Japanese authorities. Everything is conducted in Japanese, your words are converted into Japanese, and what remains afterwards is a written document.

That conversion affects the outcome more than most people expect. This is not a question of anyone acting in bad faith. It is a question of position: who engaged that interpreter, and in what capacity they are sitting there, determines what they are and are not able to do. Understanding this structure is the first step in protecting yourself.

Is the interpreter hired by the police on my side?

No, and equally not against you. An interpreter arranged by an investigative agency or by the immigration authorities is there to make the questioning possible, converting language from a neutral position. Nothing here casts doubt on how carefully they work. Their position is simply different from yours.

Because that position is neutral, they cannot add a question to bring out a fact that would help you, cannot fill in what you left unsaid, and cannot sit with you before or after the interview to understand your background. None of this is a failing on the interpreter's part. But the consequence is that no one in that room is there to act for you.

Does the written statement record my exact words?

It does not. A written statement (kyōjutsu chōsho) is not a recording. It is a document composed in Japanese by the officer after hearing what you said. Where an interpreter is involved there are two conversions: from your language into Japanese, and then, when the statement is read back to you, from Japanese into your language again.

What tends to fall away at each conversion is qualification. Phrases such as "I think it was probably like that" or "I do not clearly remember" move closer, once shaped into formal written Japanese, to "Yes, that is correct." The reverse also happens: a firm denial can end up phrased mildly. Even with no ill intent, crossing between languages produces this drift structurally.

Where does that drift matter most in an overstay case?

In four places: when you became aware that your period of stay had expired, why you remained in Japan, whether you worked during that time, and when you expressed an intention to leave. All four bear on what happens to you afterwards.

Illegal residence is a criminal offence under Article 70, paragraph (1), item (v) of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act). The statutory penalty is a kōkinkei (custodial sentence) of up to three years or a fine of up to three million yen, or both. If your explanation was "I believed it could be renewed," and that is compressed into the single line "I was aware that my period of stay had expired," it is not easy to undo later. Work matters too: engaging exclusively in activities not permitted under your status of residence raises Article 70, paragraph (1), item (iv) on unauthorised activity, and, as a ground for deportation, Article 24, item (iv)(a). Whether you helped out once or earned income continuously may be clear in your own language yet collapse into a single Japanese expression on paper.

Does the same problem arise in immigration questioning?

Yes, and in immigration proceedings the record lasts longer.

Deportation procedure begins with a violation investigation (Article 27 and following), proceeds through a written detention order (Article 39) or a decision on supervision measures (Article 44-2, paragraph (7)) to a violation examination (Article 45 and following) and a finding (Article 47, paragraph (3)); if you contest it, you may request a hearing (Article 48), receive a determination by a special inquiry officer (Article 48, paragraph (8)), and file an objection with the Minister of Justice (Article 49). Special permission to stay is then decided in light of the factors in Article 50, paragraph (5): your reasons for wishing to remain, family relationships, conduct, the circumstances of your entry into Japan, the length of your stay, your legal status during that time, the facts giving rise to deportation, and the need for humanitarian consideration, together with domestic and international circumstances and the effect on illegal residents in Japan, among other matters. Most of that material rests on what you yourself said.

What should I check before signing a statement?

When the statement is read back to you, ask for a correction on the spot wherever it does not match what you said. There is no need to hurry to sign.

Three points deserve close attention: dates and periods (when you entered Japan, when your period of stay expired); wording about awareness (where the statement says you "knew" or "understood"); and wording about work (how many occasions, over what period, and how any money was received). If a Japanese expression is unclear, ask for it to be explained. Simply refusing to sign anything you do not understand changes a great deal about what follows.

How is an interpreter working with your lawyer different?

The difference is that this interpreter is there to act for you. Communications between a lawyer and a client are not made on the assumption that they will be disclosed, so difficult facts and family matters can be discussed at length.

This is not merely about reassurance. The raw material for the factors in Article 50, paragraph (5) lies almost entirely in the client's own life: relationships with family in Japan, the hardship that returning to the home country would cause, the actual shape of daily life so far. None of that emerges from answering short questions in an interview room. That is why our office places weight on securing an interpreter who acts for the client, separately from the interpreter designated by the investigating authorities.

What difference does it make to come forward before being detected?

Seen purely as a matter of language, reporting yourself is almost the only occasion on which you can give your account in the words you have prepared and in the order you have prepared them. A sudden detection leaves no room for that.

The law also draws a line. To use the departure order system (Article 24-3), all five requirements must be met. Item (i) covers, under (a), a person who, before the violation investigation begins, appears voluntarily at an immigration services office intending to leave Japan promptly, and, under (b), a person who, after the investigation has begun but before receiving the notice under Article 47, paragraph (3), states to an immigration inspector or immigration control officer that they intend to leave promptly. The other requirements are that the person falls under none of Article 24, items (iii) to (iii)-5, item (iv)(c) through (iv)(o), item (viii) or item (ix); that since entering Japan they have not been sentenced to a kōkinkei for the specified offences, which include forgery of documents, gambling, homicide, injury, theft and robbery, and fraud and extortion; that they have never been deported or left Japan under a departure order; and that they are expected to leave promptly and reliably. The departure deadline is set within a period not exceeding fifteen days (Article 55-85, paragraph (1)).

That distinction determines when you may next come to Japan. A person who leaves under a departure order is denied landing for one year from the date of departure (Article 5, paragraph (1), item (ix)(e)). A person falling under Article 24-3, item (i)(b), who subsequently seeks to engage in the activities of a temporary visitor, faces five years from the date of departure (item (ix)(f)). If deportation follows instead, the period is five years from the date of deportation (item (ix)(c)), or ten years where there is a previous deportation or departure order (item (ix)(d)).

The same logic applies to special permission to stay. The guidelines revised in March 2024 and in force from 10 June 2024 describe such permission as an exceptional and discretionary measure, while stating expressly that appearing voluntarily at a regional immigration services office in order to report one's illegal stay is treated as a positive factor; a prolonged illegal stay, by contrast, is assessed as a negative factor. Note also that an application for special permission to stay is made by a foreign national detained under a written detention order or subject to a decision on supervision measures (Article 50, paragraph (2)), and that no application can be made once a written deportation order has been issued (Article 50, paragraph (3)). The window in which you can act is limited.

About our office

Funado International Law Office is located at Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo. Daisuke Matsumura, attorney at law, focuses his practice on criminal defence for foreign nationals, primarily clients of Chinese nationality, and on immigration procedures.

From the first visit at the detention facility through to the close of trial, Mr. Matsumura handles every stage personally; the work is not delegated to clerical staff or junior lawyers. A dedicated Chinese-language interpreter experienced in cases involving foreign nationals is on staff, so that clients may use an interpreter who acts for them, separately from the interpreter designated by the investigating authorities; for other languages, an interpreter is arranged according to the requirements of the case. Renewal or change of status of residence after the criminal proceedings conclude is handled on a one-stop basis with an affiliated administrative scrivener.

Case D-2: A woman was wrongly accused of promoting illegal employment and faced deportation. Against the established practice that grounds for deportation require neither intent nor negligence, we brought proceedings testing the reach of the principle of culpability and litigated through to the appellate stage. Special permission to stay was subsequently granted.

Case D-1: A client who entered Japan as a tourist had a child with a Japanese woman but lost his status of residence and was arrested and prosecuted for illegal stay. With the marriage and acknowledgement of paternity incomplete, the filings were initially refused; we negotiated with the authorities from a constitutional standpoint, secured both, gathered favourable evidence and analysed past grant decisions, and obtained special permission to stay in a single round of proceedings.

The first consultation is free of charge. Fees are quoted according to the circumstances of the case. Even if you have decided nothing yet, there is value in organising the facts and confirming which routes remain open to you.

In closing

The problem of interpretation is not solved by blaming anyone. An interpreter engaged by the authorities is performing a duty from a neutral position; the role of acting for you was simply never placed in that room. That is precisely why you need to secure someone on your side, and to do so early.

This article is a general explanation. For your own case, please consult a lawyer directly. Past outcomes rest on the particular circumstances of each matter and are no guarantee of a similar result.

Author

Daisuke Matsumura, Attorney at Law

Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association (registration number 59077, admitted 2019)

Funado International Law Office (Fuse Building Main Wing 3F, 3-4-10 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)

Focuses on criminal defence for foreign nationals, primarily clients of Chinese nationality, and on immigration procedures.

Past results include an acquittal in a case under the Stimulants Control Act (possession for the purpose of profit), a non-prosecution disposition in a specialised fraud case, and the grant of special permission to stay in a matter regarded as difficult.

Contact

Funado International Law Office

Website: https://matsumura-lawoffice.jp/

WeChat ID: matsumura1119

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