Human Trafficking in Person in Japan: Legal remedy and some obstacles Yumi Itakura, Senior staff attorney at the Tokyo Public Law Office’s Foreign Nationals and International Section Event video is available here: https://youtu.be/gxJvt6GtAmE

1. Human trafficking in Person in Japan
Legal remedy and some obstacles.
Yumi Itakura Attorney at Law
Tokyo Public Law Office
この写真 の作成者 不明な作成者 は CC BY-NC のライセンスを許諾さ
れています

2. Introduction
 Tokyo Public Law Office
 Established in 2002 with assistance from Tokyo Bar Association
 Foreign Nationals and International Service Section ( FISS) established in 2012
 Personal Background
 Registered in Japan Federation of Bar Association in 2005
 Specialty : Labor and Employment law, Family Law, Gender Law ( Domestic violence,
Sexual harassment at work, Support of sexual assault victims in civil proceeding)
Yumi Itakura (Attorney at Law )
yu_72_mi@yahoo.co.jp /yitakura58@t-pblo.jp

3. Today’s flow
 Forms of human trafficking in person in Japan
 Outline of Technical Intern Training Program and structural problem
from human right’s perspective.
 Reality of Sexual exploitation/ violence in Japan
 Legal remedies and problems.
 Case study
 Q and A session

4. What is human trafficking？
 General definition : Contract of buying and selling a person to get rid
of/extremely restrict her/his freedom of actions without her/his sincere
consent by inhumane ways.
 Taking various forms and various human rights violations.
 Technical intern trainee, (false) spouse of Japanese, international
student, tourist(afterwards undocumented) , JFC (Japanese-Filipino
children) etc..
 Irrespective of nationality. Including Japanese.
 Sexual exploitation as well as labor exploitation, child labor.
 Ways: physical violence, threatening, deceiving, manipulate
philologically,
 Background: social and economical vulnerability, not only poverty but
isolation from family and school, friends, mental disorder, etc…

5. Technical intern training program
Outline
 Purpose: International contribution by way of technology transfer to
developing countries.
 Approximately 258,000 trainee as for the end of 2017
 Nationality:
 1，Vietnam:104,800、2．China:79,959、3．Phillipine:25,740、4．
Indonesia:20,374、5．Thai:7,894
 Type of acceptance:
 Acceptance managed by individual enterprise
 Acceptance supervised by organization

7. Reality far from the original purpose of the technical
intern program.
 From accepting company: Taking advantage of trainees as cheep labor

 From sending countries: Taking advantage of trainee program as way of earning money
 Human rights violation =labor/ sexual exploitation

8. Structural susceptibility to human rights violation
inherent to technical intern program.
 No freedom to transfer the workplace
 Period of residence status is within 5 years at most without exception.
 Technical intern trainee must leave Japan within 5 years.
 Purpose of this program: Bring back technical skills and knowledge learned in
Japan to their home country.
 No chance to change the residence status to other type of residence status
 Accompanying family member is not permitted.
 Master employer takes control of daily life as well as working condition.
 Lack of Japanese proficiency.
 Discrimination/prejudice

9. What is human rights violation toward technical
intern trainees.
 Cheap Salary less than statutory minimum standard. 最低賃金法違反
 Take up passport to preventing for running away
 Impose on payment of indemnity, guaranty money
 Forceful saving money ( employer administer the saving money)
 Intervene into private life
 Instruct to engage in danger/toxic operation/work ( industrial accident)
 Instruct to engage in other work different from the work that is supposed to be involved as a training
program
 Wrongful and irrational deduction such as dormitory/residence fee.
 Wrongful dismissal
 Forceful repatriation
 Physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual harassment/ assault etc.

10. Various Forms of Sexual violence
 Domestic violence
 Child Porn/ Adult Video
 Sexual harassment at workplace/ School/ Academia
 Human trafficking in person
 Marriage with Japanese spouse
 Worker at Sexual industry / Prostitution
 Technical intern/ Student from overseas.

11. In 2014, Aledged ‘attempted gang coma rape’ by
male students of a prestigious university

12. Current Situation about sexual violence in Japan
Research paper about violence occurred between men and women
by Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet (March,2019)
http://www.gender.go.jp/policy/no_violence/e-vaw/chousa/h11_top.html
Q1:Do you have any
experience of coercive
sexual intercourse by
male?
• Result: one of 15 female answers Yes.
• Breakdown:
• only one time: 3.7%
• more than two time:2.8%
• Never:86.1%
• No Answer:7.5%
Q2:Relationship with a
perpetrator
• Result: More than 70% of perpetrator is
someone the victim already knew.
• Breakdown:
• husband/Ex-Husband:19.7,
Father/Brother/Other relatives:8.5,
• Boyfriend/Ex-Boyfriend:28.2
• Co-worker:13.7
• Aqcuaintance:4.3
• Stranger at all: 11.1
• Others:13.7
• No answer:0.9
Q3:Did you talk your
incidence with
someone?
• Result: About 70% of victims did not
talk/consult with anybody
• Breakdown: Yes: 31.6 /No,Nobody:67.5
• Friend/Aqcuaintance:22.2
• Family/Relative:5.1
• Police:4.3
• Medical institution (doctor/nurse):1.7
• Private Special Sector(lawyer, Counselor,
Shelter):0
• School related person(teacher, school
nurse, school counselor)

13. Current Situation about sexual violence in Japan
White paper on crime (2017)/ The White Paper on Police (2017)
Number of recognition
(2016)
• rape:989
• Forcible
indecensy:6188
Number of arrest
case(individual ) 2016
• Rape:970 case (875
people)
• Forcible indecency:
4207
case(2799people)
Disposition by Public
Prosecutor
• Number of persons
referred to public
prosecutors
• Rape:1355
• Forcible
indecency:3638
• Number of persons
prosecuted for trial
• Rape:453
• Forcible
indecency:453

14. Support system for victims of sexual crime
by Police/Public Prosecutor Office
Police
•Hot line specialized for sex crime
•#8103（nationwide uniform number) #9110:Emargency/Female police officer
•Support division for crime victims http://www.npa.go.jp/higaisya/home.htm
Ministry of Justice/ Local Public Prosecutor office
•Providing various information for crime victim
•http://www.moj.go.jp/keiji1/keiji_keiji11.html
•Victim participation system in the criminal trial
•Crime victim supporter system
•Providing various kinds of consultations from victims and/or their family
•Guide and accompanying with victim at the court
•Support of taking many procedures such as disclosure of criminal trial records, returning of the belongings submitted to the court/the police as
•Introduction of related public/private organization providing supportive services with respect to mental, living, economic and legal support.
•Notification system to victims
•Such as the final disposition by public prosecutor, the court judgement, information about when the perpetrator will be released from prison etc.

15. Support system for victims of sexual crime
By Local Administrative agency/ organization
One Stop Center for victims of sex crime/sexual violence located in 41 places nationwide.
http://purplelab.web.fc2.com/onestopcenter.html
Japan Legal Support Center : Special hot line for crime victims: 0570-079714
APP providing information for sex crime victims ‘ HELP! NAVI’ Developed by Toshima-ward office
https://www.city.toshima.lg.jp/050/kuse/danjo/1504081047.html
 Organization for Technical Intern Training http://www.otit.go.jp/about_en/
 Tokyo Labor Consultation Center https://www.hataraku.metro.tokyo.jp/soudan-
c/center/e/index.html

16. Support system for victims of sex crime
by private sector
 Emergency support center Tokyo for victim of sexual violence 性暴力救援セ
ンター東京
 https://sarc-tokyo.org/
 Rape crisis center ‘ TSUBOMI
 http://crisis-center-tsubomi.com/about_tsubomi.html
 ＰＡＰＳ:People Against Pornography and Sexual Violence
 http://www.paps.jp/paps
 Lighthouse: Center for human trafficking victims
 http://lhj.jp/english
 Safer internet association
 https://www.saferinternet.or.jp/english/
 Human rights Now
 http://hrn.or.jp/eng/womens-rights/
 Many Others

17. Support system for victims of crime
by Bar Association
 Support center for crime victims at each local bar association
 Hot line legal consultation by Tokyo Bar Association
 Tel No: 0-3581-6666 Date and time : Mon-Fri 1:00am-4:00pm
 Legal Aid by JFBA for those who cannot afford the attorney fee.
 Coverage : Drafting of complaint, Accompanying in investigation/hearing at Police
and Prosecutor office , Negotiation with the perpetrator/ the defend lawyer ,
Coping with Media.
 Victim participation Lawyer at criminal trial
 https://www.nichibenren.or.jp/contact/crime_victims/whole_country.html

18. Related laws
 Criminal responsibility
 code:刑法
 forceful intercourse (Article 177)/ forceful indecency(Article 176)
 Kidnapping of Minors(Article224), Kidnapping for Profit(Article 225), Kidnapping for Transportation out of a
Country(Article226), Buying or Selling of Human Beings(Article 226-2)
 Anti-prostitution Act：売春防止法
 ★Under this law, a victim is penalized but a buyer is not.
 Anti-child-Porn Act 児童ポルノ禁止法
 Child Welfare Act 児童福祉法
 Prevention of Revenge Porn Act リベンジポルノ被害防止法
 Civil responsibility
 Tort responsibility : Damage compensation
 Claim of payment of no-payment

19. Necessary perspectiveｓ for Legal access/justice in Multicultural society
1.Language
• Multi-lingual service
2.Affordability
• Legal Aid
• Fund Raising/Donation from society at large > corporations , individuals
3.Accessibility
• Multi-lingual Public Law Offices in Nationwide
• Consultation via phone, Skype (from overseas)
4.Information resources
• Outreach from law offices, Bar Association to Individual/Family/Communities
• Via SNS, in Cooperation with NGO, Municipal offices, Church/Mosque/Communities, etc.
5.Residence of Status with working permission
• At least during legal proceeding such as litigation as well as negotiation outside a court
6.Knowledge of Japanese law
• Strong intellectual sword for protection of legal rights

20. Case study
 Victim: Chinese female trainee（34）
 Perpetrator: Japanese Tomato farm land owner.(65) Single.
 Fact: consecutive sexual assault
 4 trainees, all female, living together in a small house like a shack located within his farm land. →He can
take controls of everything in daily life and they find it difficult to escape from him.
 All female trainees cannot understand Japanese so well.
 Farmland is located in isolated area. There is more than 100 meters of distance from nonboring house. No
train station, no public institution…
 He visits trainees 'house every night.
 One day, he calls his favorite trainee (victim) and take her to driving at night and rape her.
 After that, he orders her to work in vinyl house alone separately from other trainees and then rapes her in
vinyl house repeatedly.
 Obstacle to call for legal remedy.
 Where to go for consultation.→in this case, labor union for Chinese.
 During litigation: Attorney fee/Housing/residence status.

21.  Thank you for your attention!