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Documents
This sections contains a database of documents on child trafficking.
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| Cops found 38 foreign victims of human trafficking in first half of 2006 |
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| Type of document: |
News |
| Topic: |
Trafficking patterns
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| Language: |
English
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| Source: |
mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060829p2a00m0na031000c.html |
| Date of publication: |
29 August 2006 |
| Long Abstract: |
Cops found 38 foreign victims of human trafficking in first half of 2006
Japanese authorities discovered 38 people in the first half of the year who were smuggled into the country to work in the sex and entertainment industries, a report said Tuesday.
Independent groups estimate that the number of victims of human trafficking is far greater.
The National Police Agency said 25 of the victims were Filipino, seven were Indonesian, five Taiwanese and one Thai, Kyodo News agency reported.
The total was down from 51 reported In the first six months of 2006, Kyodo said.
A night-duty officer at the NPA said he could not confirm the report because of the late hour.
Kyodo said the 38 women were forced to work as hostesses in clubs or as prostitutes. Most of their passports had been taken by their employers and they were watched closely, it said.
Twenty-six were taken into protective custody after they sought help from immigration offices or police, Kyodo said. It was not immediately known how the other victims were discovered.
During the same period, police arrested 36 people in 32 human trafficking cases, the largest number since the NPA began keeping statistics in 2001, Kyodo said. A total of 29 people were arrested in the same period last year.
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 voluntarily but illegally enter Japan and are then saddled with exorbitant debts to their traffickers who enslave them to repay their travel fees.
Earlier this year, Japan's Justice Ministry took steps to bar organized crime syndicates from sponsoring foreign singers and dancers entering the country on entertainment visas to clamp down on human trafficking. Many people using such visas end up as club hostesses or prostitutes.
Under the ministry's measures, which took effect June 1, sponsoring companies must pay workers at least 200,000 yen per month. (AP)
August 29, 2006 |
| Files: |
( .doc 27 KB )
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