3 ms·

The explanation is in the article.

• rconti 8y ago
  Was it? I had the same question. After reading your comment, I went back and searched and still don't see it. All I see is that they would have been in Japan illegally, which doesn't answer the question as to why Japan wouldn't let them OUT.
  • TomMarius 8y ago
    They'd investigate as it's very weird to try to go out of a country that you didn't enter - that suggests that maybe you've entered illegally or something else is going on. They're allies to the US - if they see something suspicious with an US person, they will report it.
    • rconti 8y ago
      I've always found this so odd. Passports are so often stamped on random pages (or not stamped at all) that I wonder how the border guards make heads or tails of them. But I guess all that matters is that the guards in that country understand their own system.