Yan, a popular Ukrainian-Japanese Youtuber, was detained at LAX for 2 days upon entry from Japan on 2/13 and was deported to Japan thereafter.
Yan along with his brother Sawa was invited by the NBA to cover the all-star game this weekend at Salt Lake City, but plans were cut short when Yan (Sawa was fine) was taken to another room by border control agents.
According to the brothers, the border control agents presented no clear reason as to why Yan was denied entry, but they suspect that it may be connected to Yan’s Ukrainian passport (whose validity was extended on exceptional grounds by the Ukrainian embassy in Japan).
In a video taken in his room in Tokyo today, Yan describes the experience of being put under detention for 2 days. He barely had any food, no beds, had no access to communication, and apparently was not given requisite interpretive assistance. He also says one agent was buzzing and flashing his stun gun during interrogation.
Yan and Sawa duo is one of the most well-known Ukrainian figures in Japan (especially among teens) and has worked fervently to raise awareness for the Ukrainian war in Japan. They both have Ukrainian passports, but have lived most of their lives in Japan and thus create content in Japanese.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMV\_OprDk48&ab\_channel=SAWAYANCHANNEL%2F%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AF%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMV_OprDk48&ab_channel=SAWAYANCHANNEL%2F%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AF%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB)
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[https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ba5fe06502cd3b9a6602c886d92ce7ee09b181bc](https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ba5fe06502cd3b9a6602c886d92ce7ee09b181bc)
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/114judj/famous_ukrainianjapanese_youtuber_detained_and/
3 comments
Title is a bit misleading, reads like they’re dual nationals. Other than that, thanks for the article.
There are more details from another article (link below).
Yan flew on an expired Ukranian passport that was just notated by hand with an extension. He did not have an actual valid travel document. I wish he’d coordinated with the Ukranian embassy in the US.. they probably could have done something for him.
He also had a visa to come visit as a tourist, but not to work – which, as a YouTuber going to cover an event, probably violated the terms of the visa (e.g. don’t come with intention to work / earn money while on US soil).
He’s been issued a landing ban for the US, so it’s probably due to one of those reasons.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/e2b61217979aa1f380be39f4020a0ef1a715e20e
This guy looks mid-20s at least. How is he still carrying two passports?
I do not understand. He had questionable travel documents and now he is in detention. Is there something wrong with that? Or am I missing something….. help me out here. And why is he pushing the Ukranian War in Japan when that violates the tenets of your PR status.