J@pan Inc Newsletter<br><br>The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 438 Wednesday October 31, 2007, Tokyo<br><br>Human Traffic<br>
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<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br><br>If you pay a visit to the regional immigration bureau in Tokyo <br>you will notice that one counter there has a garish pink sign <br>above it displaying the words 'Entertainers Only'—the area is
<br>specially reserved for foreigners, predominantly females, <br>coming to work in the entertainment industry in Japan. The <br>troubled and undignified lives that many of the women have been <br>forced to live is regularly publicized. Often the story concerns
<br>a victim from a Southeast Asian country (undoubtedly where many <br>of them are coming from) who is forced into prostitution, paid a<br>minimal wage and prevented from returning to their home <br>countries by either shame or force. However, despite increasing
<br>awareness and some efforts to regulate the industry, the <br>situation remains a major problem in Japan, and the wider issue <br>of human trafficking encompasses not only foreigners but also <br>Japanese victims who are coerced into labor they have little
<br>hope of escaping from. <br><br>The sex industry in Japan is worth over US$80 billion a year and<br>has a constant demand for new workers. This has led to the <br>development of highly sophisticated recruitment procedures. In
<br>many cases 'host clubs' or brothels have a subtle and robust <br>process in place. We learned that one club in Osaka that <br>recruits women from Thailand, sends back some of the older <br>girls to run an agency in Bangkok that offers young Thai women
<br>a career in the entertainment industry in Japan—they often show <br>off expensive accessories as symbols of their successful career.<br>Many of the applicants receive some kind of training and because<br>the club's owner has a number of legitimate establishments as
<br>well, it is very hard to find legal fault with the process. <br>Often the women who come will be flown out and start off <br>essentially as waitresses. They may be given expensive clothes <br>and treated to a luxury lifestyle—it is only later that they
<br>are told that they are in 'X' amount of debt to the owner and <br>that they must pay this off by entering into prostitution. <br><br>We spoke to Shihoko Fujiwara, Coordinator of the Polaris <br>Project in Japan—an organization aiming to prevent human
<br>trafficking. She told us that although there have been changes <br>to the law, the police are failing to identify victims and on <br>the contrary, women who turn to the police for help may even <br>find themselves being penalized for being on the wrong side of
<br>the law. She also explains that the laws are poorly defined: <br>'Prostitution in Japan is defined only as penetrative sex so <br>many women are engaged in trading a wide variety of sexual <br>services but there is very little the police can do about that
<br>because it falls outside the law.' <br><br>Furthermore, while the focus of public opinion and press <br>is on foreigners working in Japan, there are large numbers of <br>Japanese teenagers who have pimps or work independently as
<br>prostitutes. Fujiwara elaborates that, 'in the sex trade, <br>younger is better—customers will pay more for younger girls so <br>this makes them more valuable.' In Japan, pimps actively go out <br>and recruit young women and there are 'deaikei' websites that
<br>allow young girls to post comments offering to 'hang out' with <br>men for a fee—with no checks on who is posting and who is <br>replying, sites like this (such as booiboo) can be used by pimps<br>or organized crime groups to sell young women. Many of the girls
<br>involved are lured into working in the sex industry by <br>experienced prowlers who take advantage of their youth and <br>naivety. Magazines, specifically aimed at young teenagers-<br>Ranzuki, for example-run adverts for the websites in question
<br>so print and online media both promote the practice of <br>young girls listing publicly as well as legitimizing and<br>normalizing the sites and their users. <br><br>As an organization that aims to reduce human trafficking,
<br>Fujiwara was keen to highlight that much of what Polaris do is <br>about raising awareness, particularly among victims. Many people<br>take a long time to come to full consciousness of the structures<br>by which they have been manipulated. Institutions, media and
<br>social norms don't always allow people to be self-reflexive <br>about their own situations. For example, one Korean woman who <br>was being forced to work as a prostitute in Saitama first got <br>in touch with them to see if they could help one of her
<br>customers who was being blackmailed by the organization she <br>worked for. Once she had made contact, Polaris were able to <br>help her see the realities of her own situation and she <br>ultimately managed to quit the industry.
<br><br>Outside of the sex trade, Polaris are concerned by immigrant <br>workers or 'trainees' brought over from developing countries <br>by the government with the promise of receiving industrial <br>training and who end up doing hard manual labor for a token
<br>salary and without regular employee protection. The activities <br>of the Japan International Training and Cooperation Organization<br>(JITCO) have been internationally criticized <br>(see <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/tt399" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.japaninc.com/tt399</a>) and most recently six <br>Vietnamese workers took the organization to court after being <br>compelled to work for a company that make parts for Toyota—<br>their personal documents had been taken control of and they
<br>were paid less than US$600 a month. <br>(for more see <a href="http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=619" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=619</a>
). Last <br>year JITCO brought over 85,000 'trainees' to Japan, the majority
<br>of whom work doing welding in the automobile industry. According<br>to Fujiwara there is a growing awareness about this and the <br>system will have to be changed. Although Polaris deal <br>principally with female victims, they have also been contacted
<br>in relation to other such trafficking abuses. <br><br>The Polaris Project in Japan helps victims by talking to them <br>and making them aware of their situation and of the support <br>services that are available. They have skills in talking to
<br>victims and are keen to share these with local communities and <br>the police. They have hotlines in three languages and can also <br>provide counseling services. Additionally, they visit <br>communities and organizations presenting a 50-minute workshop
<br>about the different types of trafficking and how to seek help <br>for victims. This is a free service which Polaris funds mainly <br>via charitable donations. <br><br>When asked what she would do if she was made head of the
<br>Department of Justice tomorrow, Fujiwara told us that she would <br>create a Victim Protection Act—this would allow anyone to <br>identify trafficking victims and give them instant medical and <br>social support. This should also include a clause that doesn't
<br>require victims to testify before they are eligible to receive <br>support—many women are too afraid to speak out at the moment and<br>so are unable to take advantage of the services to which they <br>have a right. She would also like to see a much tighter
<br>prosecutions policy. At the moment, customers using prostitutes <br>are not liable to prosecution—'the law sees it as a moral <br>failure on the part of the women.'<br><br>If any readers are interested in having Polaris make a
<br>presentation to them, would like further information or help, <br>or can offer support they should visit, <a href="http://www.polarisproject.jp" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.polarisproject.jp</a> <br>or contact the Polaris Project directly on
<a href="mailto:info@polarisproject.jp" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">info@polarisproject.jp</a> <br><br>By Peter Harris<br>Chief Editor<br><br>WHAT DO YOU THINK OF J@PAN INC? <br>
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