BI deports Japanese man wanted for rape

The Bureau of Immigration has reported the arrest of a Japanese man who was wanted by Tokyo authorities for kidnapping and beating a female compatriot more than four years ago.

According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the Japanese fugitive was identified as Sugihara Hirotaka, a 38-year-old who was arrested last Monday along Dr. A. Santos Ave., San Dionisio, Parañaque City.

Tansingco said that Hirotaka will be deported to Japan since the BI had previously ordered his expulsion in August 2021 after the board of commissioners issued a deportation order against him for being an undesirable alien.

“We will deport him as soon as we have secured the necessary clearances for his departure. He cannot return to the Philippines as he was already blacklisted and banned from re-entering the country,” the BI chief added.

After being connected to the kidnapping and rape of a lady in Osaka in 2019, it was learned that Japanese authorities in Manila requested the arrest and deportation of Hirotaka in August 2021.

Tansingco also stated that a warrant of arrest against Hirotaka was reportedly issued by the Osaka summary court, where he was charged with abduction for obscenity and rape resulting in injury in violation of Japan’s penal code.

The Japanese authorities alleged that Hirotaka abducted a young female victim on the street and brought her to an abandoned area in Osaka, where she was assaulted and raped.

“He is also a suspect in a series of violent incidents of abduction and rape of other minors in Japan,” BI Fugitive Search Unit acting chief Rendel Ryan Sy said.

Sy added that to evade prosecution, Hirotaka has hidden in the country since 6 March, when he arrived here as a tourist. He has not left since then, so he is already overstaying.

Hirotaka is currently detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while awaiting the implementation of his deportation.