NHK reported online on Wednesday that according to the Justice Ministry, 9,179 foreigners were refused entry to Japan in 2018, marking an increase of 1,998, or 28%, over the previous year and a rise for six consecutive years. Of the total, 7,243, or 79%, were rejected on suspicion of seeking to work illegally with a tourist visa, and 2,092 of them were Chinese, 1,307 were Thai, and 990 were Indonesian. Nationals from these three countries made up 48% of those refused entry.