The Japanese man's dwelling in Fuli, Hualien County (photo by Yuli Police). The Japanese man's dwelling in Fuli, Hualien County (photo by Yuli Police). (CNA photo)

A Japanese man (left) overstayed his visa by 36 years (photo by Yuli Police). A Japanese man (left) overstayed his visa by 36 years (photo by Yuli Police). (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The National Immigration Agency (NIA) is preparing to send a man home to Japan who overstayed his visa by 36 years while living in the Hualien County countryside.

The 82-year-old, surnamed Hori (堀), had been living in a modest dwelling up on a hill in Fuli, in the far south of Hualien County, the Central News Agency reported.

His presence came to light after a resident reported an elderly man had been living in poverty, and local police visited him. They found he had entered Taiwan in 1983 on a tourist visa and had never left or applied for a residency permit.

As he could not speak Chinese, Hori reportedly explained in broken English how he had launched a mining venture which went wrong, and stayed in Taiwan doing odd jobs afterward.

He had even forgotten where in Japan he was from and had lost all contact with his relatives there, according to CNA.

Hori had been unable to find enough money for a flight back, but the NIA was preparing to send him to Japan.

