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Entertainers face visa crackdown as ministry targets prostitution
August 27, 2004
The Justice Ministry plans to tighten its visa screening of foreign women
entering Japan as dancers and singers in an effort to prevent crime syndicates
from forcing them into prostitution, ministry officials said Thursday.
The decision comes amid growing international criticism of Japan's poor efforts
to combat human trafficking.
In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, released in June, the U.S. State
Department put Japan on a special watch list of countries that are on the verge
of falling into the worst category.
The ministry is planning to propose to its Legislative Council in September
revisions to the Penal Code, one of which would create a new criminal charge
for human trafficking.
It is also planning to revise a ministerial ordinance that serves as a basis
for approving the residency status of foreigners who come to Japan on
entertainment visas, the officials said.
The current ordinance requires operators of entertainment facilities that hire
foreigners to have no record of convictions for bringing women in illegally or
for operating prostitutes.
The ministry plans to add regulations to prevent crime syndicates from taking
any part in bringing foreigners here to work in the entertainment industry, the
officials said, adding that a concrete plan will be mapped out by the end of
this year.
It is also considering setting stricter conditions on the number of employees
at entertainment facilities and the size of stages and waiting rooms for
performers to ensure that companies are only offering entertainment
performances, the officials said.
At present, the ministry investigates only if there is a report of a problem
with an operator or a facility.
Under the proposed visa screening plan, the ministry would confirm that the
operators were actually hiring women for entertainment purposes when the
applications were filed and when the visas were renewed.
The ministry would file criminal complaints if it found evidence of
prostitution.
Activities that are covered by entertainment visas include participation in
music concerts, theater and sporting events, and the duration of stay lasts
from three months to one year. Those granted visas are prohibited from working
as bar hostesses.
Ministry data show that the number of people entering Japan on entertainment
visas has risen since 1997.
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