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No sure solution in prostitution fight
December 26, 2004
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas admitted Sunday that the government cannot
do anything about Filipino entertainers who practice the oldest profession in
Japan as Tokyo employs a stricter policy to curb human trafficking starting
next year.
“The government doesn’t hold the key if a person turns out to be a prostitute
or not. These are individual decisions,” said Sto. Tomas.
The labor chief said the Philippine government is not opposing Tokyo’s new
measure in addressing human smuggling in Japan where victims normally end up in
prostitution.
“Just as the Japanese government is concerned with trafficking, so are we,” she
added.
Starting next year, Japan is no longer recognizing the artist record book (ARB)
that the Philippines uses as accreditation for Filipino entertainers wanting to
work there. Instead, stricter requirements like higher education and a two-year
experience outside of Japan are asked of the applicants.
Local recruitment companies said this new policy would severely affect the
country’s deployment to Japan since majority of foreign entertainers there are
Filipinos.
They said that the new policy will cut deployment by 90 percent and will pave
the way for competitors to take over the market.
While allaying this fear, Sto. Tomas noted that the government is more
concerned about the safety of Filipinos in Japan than the number of
entertainers being sent overseas.
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Japan
adopts action plan against human trafficking
12-8-2004
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