TRANSNATIONAL TRAFFICKING TO JAPAN

Economically advanced nations such as Japan, North America, and the Western European are often the final destination for trafficked persons.  In other words, these affluent nations are “recipient countries” of victims of human trafficking.  It has been reported that many of the victims who are trafficked to Japan for sexual exploitation are women and children from Asian or South American countries.

Many of the women and children who arrive in Japan are forced to repay an extortionate debt for transportation and intermediary costs by working in the sex industry or as prostitutes.  There are many people who continue to work in slave-like conditions until their contracts are repaid, without knowing who to contact or how to get help.  There are an estimated 200,000 women and girls in Japan who are subject to forced labor or forced prostitution.

At the same time, we cannot neglect those who are trafficked for labor purposes. There are many cases of foreigners being forced to work under inferior conditions with cheap wages in various industries. One of the underlying causes of labor exploitation is the economic disparity between countries; foreigners may seek temporary employment in Japan due to higher wages creating a supply of laborers, while employers aiming to lower production costs create a demand for cheap workers.  There are also brokers who serve as the intermediary between the two sides, and takes advantage of this arrangement to exploit foreign laborers.