DOMESTIC TRAFFICKING WITHIN JAPAN

The word “slavery” can sometimes feel like a problem of the past, a horrible practice that had once occurred in a land far away.  However, the fact that Japanese women and young girls are being subjected to physical and mental harm in slave-like conditions in modern-day Japan is a reality that is beginning to gain attention in the media.

According to International Law, child prostitution is considered a form of human trafficking, and there are other domestic laws protecting women and children against “prostitution” and “forced prostitution”. Nonetheless, the number of cases of violence are not subsiding, with an estimated 1,500 cases of children harmed in the sex and pornography industries. Indeed, there are still many children who are forced to repay exorbitant debts by selling their bodies, as well as young girls who are coerced into “dating with compensation”.