By Ferdinand Patinio

WANTED FOR FRAUD. Two Japanese fugitives were arrested during the Bureau of Immigration (BI) operation on Tuesday (April 28, 2026). The BI on Thursday (April 30) said two were identified as Oi Takumi, 30, and Okada Sho, 27, both wanted in Japan for fraud. (Photo from BI)

MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said two Japanese nationals wanted by authorities in Japan for fraud have been arrested during an operation in Pasay City.

BI Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) agents, in coordination with the National Police Agency of Japan, apprehended Oi Takumi, 30, and Okada Sho, 27, along Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, on Tuesday.

The two are subjects of active arrest warrants issued earlier this month by the Kokura Summary Court in Japan for fraud under the Japanese Penal Code, for allegedly conspiring to carry out a financial scam by impersonating law enforcement officers.

Their arrest was carried out following close coordination with Japanese authorities, who also requested the preservation of digital evidence, including mobile phones and computers, to support ongoing investigations.

Immigration records show that two Japanese nationals last entered the Philippines in January this year as temporary visitors.

However, they failed to extend or update their stay, resulting in their classification as overstaying aliens, which also served as a basis for deportation.

The suspects will remain at the BI Warden Facility, where they will face the deportation case against them. (PNA)