Officials from an immigration center in Nagasaki Prefecture said Monday they have decided to temporarily release a 46-year-old man who claims to be a North Korean refugee.
Kim Yong Hwa, who is awaiting deportation to China, has been detained at the Omura Immigration Center since July 1998 on suspicion of entering Japan illegally. Kim requested temporary release on March 6, arguing that his long detention was unjust, according to Seigo Yano, one of Kim's lawyers.
The officials refused to disclose the reasons behind the decision to temporarily release him.
Kim is scheduled to leave the center Thursday after completing the necessary paperwork. Yano and other supporters will take care of him after he is released. He is reportedly in poor health and undergoing treatment for high blood pressure.