Human Trafficking in  [Japan]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Japan]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Japan]  [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Japan                                                                                              [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Japan [map] occupies an archipelago off the coast of E Asia. Its capital is Tokyo, which, along with neighboring Yokohama, forms the world's most populous metropolitan region.  Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 160% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. A rise in taxes could be viewed as endangering the revival of growth. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots."

Japan is primarily a destination, and to a lesser extent a transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of identified trafficking victims are foreign women who migrate to Japan seeking work, but who are deceived or coerced into debt bondage or sexual servitude. Some migrant workers are reportedly subjected to conditions of forced labor through a "foreign trainee" program. Women and children are trafficked to Japan for commercial sexual exploitation from the People's Republic of China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, Latin America. Internal trafficking of Japanese minor girls and women for sexual exploitation is also a problem. Over the past year, exploiters of women in Japan's booming sex trade appear to have modified their methods of controlling victims to limit their opportunity to escape or seek help. Many female victims will not step forward to seek help for fear of reprisals by their traffickers, who are usually members or associates of Japanese organized crime syndicates (the Yakuza). Japanese men are involved in child sex tourism in Southeast Asia. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007  [full country report]

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Japan.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – Trafficking victims generally did not realize the extent of their indebtedness, the amount of time it would take them to repay the debts, or the conditions of employment to which they would be subjected upon arrival. According to Human Rights Watch, the passports of women trafficked to work in "dating" bars usually were confiscated by their employers, who also demanded repayment for the cost of the woman's "purchase." Typically, the women were charged $28,570 to $47,620 (3 million to 5 million yen), their living expenses, medical care (when provided by the employer), and other necessities, as well as "fines" for misbehavior added to the original "debt" over time. How the debt was calculated was left to the employers; the process was not transparent, and the employers reportedly often used the debt to coerce additional unpaid labor from the trafficked women. Employers also sometimes "resold," or threatened to resell, troublesome women or women found to be HIV positive, thereby increasing the victims' debts and possibly worsening their working conditions.

Many women trafficked into the sex trade had their movements strictly controlled by their employers and were threatened with reprisals, sometimes through members of organized crime groups, to themselves or their families if they tried to escape. Employers often isolated the women, subjected them to constant surveillance, and used violence to punish them for disobedience. There were reports that some brokers used drugs to subjugate victims. Many trafficked women also knew that they were subject to arrest if found without their passports or other identification documents. Few spoke Japanese well, making escape even more difficult.

Japan arrests Thai for human trafficking

According to local police, the two "bought" a 27-year-old Thai woman for 2.4 million yen (642,000 baht) from a broker in May to have her work at Kuo's bar.  They forced the Thai woman into prostitution, telling her she owed them a 5 million yen (more than 1.3 million baht) debt over her expenses in coming to Japan, police alleged.  The case came to light after the Thai woman sought help at the Thai Embassy in Tokyo, they said.

Thai Government and International Organizations Pledge Cooperation to Provide Assistance to Victims

"For example, a Chiang Mai woman in her thirties was lured to Japan by a job broker from Bangkok who had offered her a job at a home for the elderly, with a monthly salary of 30,000 baht. Upon arrival in Japan, she realised she had been tricked. She ended up in a brothel owned by a yakuza gang, but managed to escape and get to the Thai embassy before she was raped." On returning to Thailand, the woman had to go into hiding after associates of the traffickers tracked her down and attacked her. She is now a spokesperson for an anti-trafficking programme in Chiang Mai.

Cops found 38 foreign victims of human trafficking in first half of 2006

Activists say many women voluntarily but illegally enter Japan and are then saddled with exorbitant debts to their traffickers who enslave them to repay their travel fees.

The trafficking scourge -  Japan has tackled sex trafficking, but challenges remain

Urairat Soimee's journey began with an invitation from a wealthy neighbor -- her mother's childhood friend -- in her small Thai village to come and work at a restaurant she claimed she owned in Japan.  It ended with her in a Japanese prison, serving a sentence for murder.

Japan Strengthens Its Efforts on Combating Human Trafficking

Thailand was chosen because many trafficking victims in Japan are Thai women. According to the NPA, 169 of the 397 victims taken into custody between 2001 and 2005 were from Thailand. Most were duped into heavy debts, then forced to work as bar hostesses or prostitutes.

Japan may crack down on sex trafficking

“They know that they can't go to the police because they have no visas," she said. "They fear that if they are spotted coming to the shelter they will be killed, or that their families back home will be hurt by thugs”.

Japanese Police Report Human Trafficking Victims in First Half of 2005

The number of victims was three times the tally in the first six months of last year, according to the National Police Agency report.  The Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration estimates that as many as 150,000 trafficking victims could be working in Japan's sex industry.  Activists say many women who voluntarily but illegally enter Japan are then saddled with exorbitant debts to their traffickers who enslave them to repay their travel fees.

NPA uncovers 29 cases of human trafficking, but report says much more is needed

The problem of human trafficking continues on a wide scale in Japan, according to a report from nongovernmental organization Japan Network Against Trafficking in Persons (JNATIP).

They have been lied to, abused and trapped in the seedy sex industry where defiance is punishable by gang rapes. And until recently, these foreign women were viewed as lawbreakers, not victims.  Yet the problem of human trafficking continues on a wide scale in Japan, according to a report from nongovernmental organization Japan Network Against Trafficking in Persons (JNATIP).

Thai woman admits selling girl into sex trade

A Thai woman in Kanagawa Prefecture has been arrested on suspicion of selling a teenage Thai girl to a woman who manages prostitutes, and a Japanese man in Tokyo was taken into custody for introducing the girl to another man for purposes of solicitation, police said Monday.  The MPD quoted Phinkaew as saying that since she arrived in Japan four years ago, she "sold" about 10 Thai girls and adult women to pimps and earned 2 million yen to 2.5 million yen for each woman.  In October 2002, Phinkaew sold the girl, who was 13 at the time, to a manager of prostitutes at a fast-food shop in Shinjuku Ward for 2.3 million yen.

Japan's Skin Trade Shame

In the popular imagination, human trafficking involves women who are kidnapped or otherwise tricked into working as prostitutes. But experts say such cases are rare in Japan.  More common are women who come voluntarily but encounter slave-like conditions - and trapping debts - on arrival.

Internet date becomes nightmare

A Japanese man allegedly chained a teenage girl with a dog collar for more than three months and repeatedly raped and beat her after meeting her in an internet chat room.

Forced Labor?  Male Migrant Workers In Japan Have It Tough

He points out that complaints by male workers sound very similar to those of trafficked women, such as low wages, long and exhausting working hours, and violence from their bosses.  The bulk of complaints are over unpaid overtime, sometimes running into years, and injuries in the workplace. The counselor said many of the workers were reluctant to confront their bosses for fear of being deported for violating their tourist visas.

Japan Is Limiting The Entry Of All Foreign Entertainers

Tokyo wants to clamp down on Japanese crime rings, or yakuza, that bring women into that country from Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America for prostitution and forced labor. Manila should welcome this move and focus on the opening of the Japanese market for foreign nurses and caregivers.

Japanese Police Plan Fresh Crackdown On Sex Traffickers

Japan's crackdown on the sex trade has also drawn international criticism, with weekly pickets outside the Japanese embassy in Manila by Filipinos worried that many legitimate workers would be deprived of their livelihoods.  Japan plans to begin restricting the issue of entertainment visas -- often used in human trafficking -- only to Filipinos with two years' training outside Japan or at foreign educational institutes.

Hot Line Reaches Out To Women Forced Into Sexual Slavery In Japan

After the State Department listed Japan in the next-to-worst category, the government began efforts to eradicate human trafficking and rescue rather than penalize victims, as well as prosecuting offenders.  The hot line numbers: 0120-879-871 for English and Japanese,  0120-879-872 for Thai,  0120-879-873 for Chinese and  0120-879-874 for Tagalog.

Japan Sex Industry Ensnares Latin Women

When she arrived she was raped by all three men and sold to a Yakuza organized crime boss, who branded her across the chest with a 6-inch (15-centimeter) rose tattoo. He forced her to provide sexual services to up to 40 clients a day, she said.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 1   Civil Liberties: 2   Status: Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

Human trafficking: Asia's persistent tragedy

Ai, a Thai woman in her early 30s, considers herself among the lucky ones. She was rescued by a Catholic nun after 10 years of virtual sexual slavery in Japan.  "It was like hell," Ai said of her ordeal as a sex worker that began soon after she was trafficked from Thailand at the age of 15. "I was dead from the first day. After one year, I started to take drugs."  Not only was she threatened with abuse at the hands of Japan's notorious yakuza crime syndicate if she disobeyed commands to sleep with clients, but she was denied her promised salary on grounds that a substantial slice of it was needed to pay for the cost of her journey from Thailand.  "We were told that once our debts are paid off, we would be sold to someone else,"

ARCHIVES

2004   Initially promised jobs as waitresses, young Asian women met at airport by gangsters

2004   The ILO Report:  Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Japan [PDF]

2004   Japan tries to erase taint of sex slavery

Colombia, Japan to tackle trafficking

The Japanese and Colombian governments have agreed on a series of steps aimed at preventing human trafficking and providing support to sex-trade victims.  This is Japan's second government-level agreement on human trafficking. The first was reached with the Philippines in September.

The officials explained to their Colombian counterparts about Japan's new policy of treating women duped into exploitation as victims to protect. The women will be allowed to stay in shelters for an extended period of time rather than be subject to immediate deportation.

2004   Japan has thousands of victims of sexual slavery and is on a new U.S. "watch list”

2004   Without documentation or means of getting home, the women are forced to work in brothels

2004   Loophole in Japan's immigration law make Japan a target destination for poor workers

2004   Japan’s Action Plan of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons [PDF]

2004   Japanese fact-finding team will look into rampant trafficking of people from the Philippines

2004   New law & crackdown on undocumented Filipinos do not address issue of human trafficking

2004   The Impact of International Human Rights Law on Japan [Restricted]

2004   Filipino children trafficked to nearby Malaysia and Japan

2004   Slash the number of visas issued to Filipinos as "entertainers" in a bid to stop sex trafficking

2000   Thai Women Trafficked into Debt Bondage in Japan

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Human Trafficking in  [Japan]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Japan]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Japan]  [other countries]