Illegal Pakistani migrants disguised as soccer players sent to Japan

Immigration

Smugglers’ innovative schemes defy crackdowns and highlight economic hardships

Legs of Japanese and Pakistani soccer players at an Asian Games match in Doha in 2006. In June, a group of 22 people from Pakistan who tried to enter Japan were caught at Osaka’s Kansai Airport and deported after failing to prove they were actually members of a football team © Reuters

ADNAN AAMIR

September 25, 2025 09:50 JST

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani human smugglers appear to be using fake football teams to smuggle migrants to Japan, a new method that was brought to light following the recent deportation of a “team” that had arrived in Osaka.