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INTERVIEW - Yoko Yoshida: Society a `perpetrator' of human trafficking
August 27, 2004
In its latest Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. Department of State lists
Japan as a country requiring "scrutiny" for its failure to satisfy the minimum
standards for passing legislation to protect victims and otherwise preventing
human trafficking.
Just what is "human trafficking," and why has Japan been censured for not doing
enough to fight it? To find out, Asahi Shimbun senior staff writer Maki Okubo
interviewed Yoko Yoshida, an attorney who is well versed in this disturbing
issue.
Q: What is the definition of "human trafficking?"
A: In the simplest of terms, it refers to the buying and selling of human
beings to turn a profit. The tactics include violence, deception, taking
advantage of an individual's weak position or other violations of basic rights
to transport, broker and confine human beings. The ultimate goals are forced
prostitution, slave labor, dealing in human organs and other forms of criminal
extortion.
When the victim is a minor under the age of 18, all actions perpetrated with
objectives of such illegal behavior qualify as human trafficking. Particularly
conspicuous in Japan, for example, is trafficking with the objective of
deceiving foreign women into forced prostitution.
Q: There are many people who claim that such women travel to Japan with
full knowledge of what they are getting into.
A: It is true that some of them know that they will be working in the sex
trade. The critical question, however, is what exactly have they been told? For
instance, if they are unaware that they will be saddled with a 5-million-yen
debt upon arrival, then it is tough to claim that they have fully acknowledged
their situation.
And even when a woman is told that much, if her passport is taken away and she
is forced to service 20 customers daily or work under other inhuman conditions,
that is clearly tantamount to human trafficking.
Q: The U.S. State Department report estimates the number of human
trafficking victims at between 600,000 and 800,000 worldwide. It states that 80
percent are women, with 70 percent of them sold into prostitution or used for
other sexual objectives. What about the situation in Japan?
A: Although this is only a rough estimate, if we figure that half of the more
than 200,000 illegal resident aliens in Japan are female, that adds up to tens
of thousands of such cases at the very least. The challenge from here on is to
gather reliable statistics and conduct specific case studies.
Q: Can the existing legal system be used to carry out crackdowns on human
trafficking?
A: Theoretically, it is possible to apply the laws to abductions, kidnappings
and other cases, and crack down on some of them. In fact, there are certain
stipulations that do apply. They include introductions to harmful work
occupations under the employment security law; contributing to illegal labor as
defined in the immigration control and refugee-recognition act; acting as a
broker for prostitution as stipulated in the anti-prostitution law; and other
instances.
The penal code, meanwhile, contains a provision governing abduction with the
purpose of overseas transport. However, there are no laws to regulate human
trafficking that originates outside of Japan, and that places serious limits on
what can be done. This shortcoming is one of the major reasons for the
miserable assessment received by Japan in the U.S. State Department report.
Q: What type of legal action is needed from here on ?
A: In my opinion, Japan needs to pass a "human trafficking prevention law" to
specifically stipulate the crime of trafficking in people. In addition to
punishing the perpetrators, there is also a critical need to clarify how the
victims will receive protection and relief.
Because the majority of the female victims of trafficking end up staying in
Japan illegally, they have been conventionally treated as "criminals" and
deported. Under those conditions, it has been next to impossible for them to
seek help.
If, in contrast, they become eligible for protection as "victims," they could
provide testimony that will help lead to the prosecution of the true offenders.
Naturally, how to create a system that will afford such protective custody is
also a critical question that must be addressed.
The Japanese need to understand that our own society is also a perpetrator of
the outrages of human trafficking. While gaps in earning power and other
problems are underlying factors, the women come to Japan because there is a
demand for their services. Thus, in no uncertain terms, we are talking about
paying money for the supply of women. This is an issue that I dearly hope both
men and women will take closely to heart.
* * *
Yoko Yoshida is co-director of the nongovernmental organization Japan
Network Against Trafficking in Persons. She has been an attorney since 1985 and
specializes in women's rights and violence against women. She is a member of
the Committee for Gender Equality under the Japan Federation of Bar
Associations.
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