Japan is set to deport the star of an Oscar-winning documentary which showed how dolphins were hunted in a Japanese village, more than two weeks after he was detained at a Tokyo airport.

Ric O'Barry's lawyer and his son Lincoln O'Barry told the Associated Press on Friday that an appeal against a decision by Japanese immigration officials to deny O'Barry entry has been turned down.

O'Barry has been held in a detention facility since January 18 when he landed at Tokyo's Narita airport. O'Barry and his lawyer say officials accuse him of lying during his past visits to Japan. He denies that, and says he is a tourist.

O'Barry starred in The Cove, which depicted the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.

Immigration officials do not comment on cases.

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