Jailed, deported and in love: How a Japanese man's Bengaluru saga took an unexpected turn

A Japanese man came to Bengaluru to learn English. Instead, a dispute at an academy landed him in jail for 19 days, a complaint against a police officer set off a years-long legal battle, and a bizarre attempt involving a plastic chair was meant to get him arrested again. He was eventually deported to Japan — but Bengaluru had already given him another reason to stay: he fell in love and married an Indian woman.

Nearly seven years after Hirotoshi Tanaka arrived in the city in 2019, the Karnataka government has finally paid him ₹75,000 in compensation after the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission found that he had been unnecessarily kept in judicial custody for 19 days, the Indian Express reported.

Yet the strangest chapter of his ordeal came on February 28, 2021, when Tanaka walked into the office of the JC Nagar assistant commissioner of police in RT Nagar, picked up a white plastic chair, took selfies with it and carried it home to BTM Layout.

He was not trying to secretly steal it. He wanted the police to arrest him.

Tanaka believed that getting arrested would allow him to remain in India while he continued pursuing his human rights complaint.

From English classes to Bengaluru Central Prison

Tanaka, then a 36-year-old psychology graduate, had come to Bengaluru to learn English and enrolled at a private English academy. He became unhappy after classes were allegedly cancelled frequently and held irregularly.

His repeated attempts to seek an explanation from the academy's head reportedly went unanswered. The dispute eventually escalated into an argument, during which Tanaka asserted that he was provoked, lost his temper and punched the academy head.

The RT Nagar police subsequently registered a case against him for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

Although the offences were bailable, Tanaka was arrested on November 23, 2019, and sent to Bengaluru Central Prison. He spent 19 days in jail before being released on December 11, Express reported.

For someone who had come to India to study English, the experience was far removed from what he had expected.

A police bribe allegation

Tanaka's troubles did not end when he walked out of prison.

When he returned to the police station the next day to collect his belongings, he said he had very little money. He recalled that a constable, lent him ₹1,500.

Tanaka alleged that another officer, then a sub-inspector, later demanded a bribe. According to him, he eventually paid ₹5,500, including the amount he had borrowed. Days later, when he appeared in court, he alleged that the officer again demanded ₹3,000 to settle the case.

On December 19, Tanaka was asked to appear before the court. He again alleged that Hanumantharayappa demanded ₹3,000 to close the case. This time, Tanaka decided he would not let the alleged bribe demands go unchallenged, Express reported.

But just as he prepared to take on the police, the Covid-19 pandemic brought his plans to a halt and plunged his already uncertain life into further turmoil.

This time, Tanaka decided to fight.

“I wanted to fight,” he said.

His father is a police officer in Japan, and Tanaka said he had great respect for the police. But he did not want to accept what he described as misconduct.

The criminal case is dropped, but the fight continues

Tanaka eventually approached the Karnataka High Court challenging the criminal proceedings against him.

After the coaching centre's head agreed to settle the dispute, the High Court, on November 2, 2020, quashed the FIR and all criminal proceedings against him.

The case that had led to his arrest and 19 days in prison was finally over.

But Tanaka chose not to return to Japan. Instead, he decided to continue pursuing what he believed was a larger injustice.

In December 2020, he approached the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission with a complaint against the police officer, who has since retired. Tanaka alleged that the officer had demanded a bribe to drop the case and sought action against him as well as reimbursement of his travel expenses.

At the same time, however, his immigration situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

Visa troubles and the bizarre chair plan

Tanaka's visa had expired while the criminal case was pending. After the case was quashed, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office directed him to leave India before February 28, 2021.

Tanaka did not want to leave. He wanted to remain in India until his human rights complaint was heard. His financial problems were also worsening

Tanaka said his exit permit had been extended while his case was pending, but he was still waiting for another extension as the February 28 deadline approached.

Then he came up with a bizarre plan.

‘Police chair’

Around 1am on February 28, Tanaka entered the JC Nagar ACP's office in RT Nagar and picked up a white plastic chair from the reception area.

“On my phone, I looked up the offence of theft under the Indian Penal Code (the law then in force)… and found it was a non-bailable offence… Committing theft would inevitably lead to my arrest, so I decided to take the chair instead,” he was quoted as saying by Express.

Tanaka took the white chair back to his room and posted selfies with it on X, where the unusual stunt quickly went viral. He then waited, expecting the police to arrest him.

But nothing happened.

The police did not register a case, reportedly treating the incident — and Tanaka himself — as a “headache”. A police officer explained to Express that taking action would only give Tanaka another opportunity to prolong his stay in India.

On March 3, 2021, Tanaka was summoned by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) after Bengaluru Police’s North Division recommended his deportation.

“I was planning to return the chair to the ACP’s office,’’ he said. But before he could do so, the police took him to a detention centre.

Tanaka was deported to Japan in late April 2021. He recalled that the police escort included the same officer who had earlier lent him ₹1,500.

But deportation did not end Tanaka’s fight. He continued pursuing the case from Japan.

Human rights commission rules in his favour

After eventually returning to Japan, Tanaka continued pursuing the case through his Bengaluru-based advocate Rohan Kothari.

On May 9, 2022, the commission ruled in Tanaka’s favour and recommended that the state government pay him ₹75,000 in compensation. It also called for disciplinary action against Hanumantarayappa, recovery of the compensation amount from him and appropriate guidelines for police officers handling cases involving foreign nationals or illiterate people at the time of arrest.

However, the recommendations were not acted upon immediately.

“I waited for nearly two months,” Tanaka said. “I then moved the Karnataka High Court in September 2022 with a petition seeking the implementation of the KSHRC’s recommendations."

The matter continued for years before the state government finally moved ahead.

In April this year, the government filed an affidavit stating that ₹75,000 would be transferred to Tanaka’s counsel’s account. The Additional Government Advocate also informed the court that disciplinary action had been initiated against Hanumantharayappa.

The government paid the amount to Tanaka’s counsel on June 22.

Hanumantharayappa, now 65, has denied ever demanding a bribe.

Jailed, deported — but still wants to return

Tanaka's journey began with a simple plan to learn English in Bengaluru. It took him through a police station, a prison cell, courtrooms, an immigration battle and a human rights complaint before he was deported to Japan in April 2021.

But his memories of India are not entirely defined by his ordeal.

Amid his turbulent years in Bengaluru, Tanaka found love. He met his future wife, a woman from the Northeast, at a bar he frequented. After losing touch, he tracked her down through Instagram and Facebook. She later returned to Bengaluru for work, and they began dating.

“She stood with me during tough times. In fact, she was the one who encouraged me to file a petition in court,” he said. Their relationship faltered after his deportation, but they gradually reconnected online. In March 2024, she visited Japan, where they got engaged. “In 2025, we got married,” Tanaka was quoted as saying by Express.

In March 2024, she travelled to Japan as a tourist, where the couple visited Tokyo, Tanaka’s hometown of Yaizu, Kyoto and Osaka His wife is now back in Bengaluru while her spouse visa for Japan is being processed. Despite being blacklisted following his deportation, Tanaka still hopes to return to India.

“I wish to visit my wife’s hometown and meet her family…”