Japan has today ordered the deportation of former world chess champion Bobby Fischer after rejecting his demand for protection as a political refugee.
Fischer is wanted at home in the United States for breaking sanctions. His lawyers have appealed the decision, which they described as "very regrettable".
The grandmaster, arguably the greatest chess player the world has seen, has been in detention in Japan since July 13th when he was stopped at Tokyo's Narita airport for travelling on a passport that US officials say is invalid.
Justice Minister Mr Daizo Nozawa rejected Fischer's request for refugee status, possibly also putting an end to his plans for a more romantic attempt to escape deportation by wedding Japanese chess great Ms Miyoko Watai.
Fischer (61), one of the chess world's great eccentrics, has been wanted at home since 1992, when he violated economic sanctions by going to Yugoslavia and winning $3 million in a chess match in which he beat old rival Boris Spassky.
Fischer vanished after the 1992 match but resurfaced after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States to praise the strikes in an interview with a Philippine radio station.
Since his detention, Fischer has been trying to renounce his US citizenship. However, he can only do that by speaking in person to a US official.
His supporters say he renewed his US passport in Switzerland in 1997 and never received a letter issued in December 2003 revoking it.
US State Department officials have said it took years for the legal process to catch up with him.