Deputy Director General of the Press and Information Division of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Tomohiko Taniguchi disclosed this in the Japanese capital yesterday.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Taniguchi said according to figures released by the National Police Agency, South Korean nationals topped the list of suspected offenders with a total of 14,031 booked.

High criminal offence rates among South Koreans prompted the Japanese authorities to pick up the matter with their South Korean counterpart. And high officials of police agencies of the two countries met this week to discuss the possibilities of widening cooperation in crime-prevention matters.

"Of the 233 cases of arrest of Bangladeshi nationals during the first six months of 2005, majority are those who had been arrested for overstaying in the country beyond the permitted period," said the message.