Originally Posted by
TravelLawyer
I am confused where everyone is getting this from. At no point did OP say he had an ERFS document. He said the tour company admitted they produced a visa but they didn't properly file it.
It is fairly easy to deduce for anyone who has been through the process of entering Japan before visa waivers were reinstated.
The tour guide cannot apply for a visa. OP would have had to do this themselves, which they admitted to having not done.
The only possible document a tour company would have provided to them that could have been confused for a visa would be an an ERFS.