‘Japayukis’ back Tokyo’s drive vs human trafficking

By Katherine Adraneda
January 20, 2005

Recruiters and Filipino entertainers expressed support yesterday for Japan’s anti-human trafficking legislation as they also sought to buy more time before the new law — seen as adverse to Filipino entertainers — is implemented.

In a letter to Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamasaki, the Confederated Association of Licensed Entertainment Agencies (CALEA) appealed to Tokyo for a "win-win" solution that will address the human trafficking problem in their country as well as allay local concerns that some 80,000 overseas performing artists (OPAs) stand to lose their jobs as the Japanese Diet (Parliament) acts on the amendment today.

In a statement, CALEA chairwoman Christie Gatchalian-Buan pointed out they fully back the Japanese government’s efforts to curb human trafficking, but stressed that "reforms should not only seek to punish the guilty, but also protect the innocent."

CALEA, the umbrella organization of legitimate agencies engaged in recruiting, training and deploying OPAs, made the appeal on behalf of Filipino OPAs in Japan who lament that certain revised requirements in the application for entertainer’s visa will massively displace them, thus drastically affecting an estimated annual average of $283.25 million or P15.86 billion in remittances from overseas Filipino workers in Japan in the past seven years.

Labor recruitment firms here warn that up to 90 percent of the Filipino workers going to Japan would be disqualified under the new law, which was adopted last month.

Another group, the Overseas Performing Artists Coalition of Sectoral Force (OPA Koalisyon), said it was not entirely against the proposed policy but asked for a two-and-a-half-year deferment "so we could prepare for it."

"We concur with the initiatives of both the Japanese and Philippine governments to take effective measures against human trafficking but we also urge that these measures be adopted on the basis of (thorough) consultation and dialogue with the affected sectors," said Richard Cabebe of OPA Koalisyon.

Filipino OPAs and promoters have been pressing Malacañang to move swiftly and make a stronger representation to Tokyo on the issue. They also want President Arroyo to consider making a direct appeal to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

For Filipino entertainers, the President now stands as their "only hope."

OPA Koalisyon said only Mrs. Arroyo can immediately bring concrete action to address their dilemma by way of forging a bilateral agreement with the government of Japan.

"We appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to help us," Cabebe said.

"If she was able to negotiate for the release of Angelo de la Cruz before, then perhaps she could also negotiate with the Japan government to help the at least 80, 000 Filipino entertainers and their at least 500, 000 dependents here (in the Philippines)," he said, referring to last year’s Iraq crisis involving a Filipino truck driver taken hostage but later released after Mrs. Arroyo pulled out Filipino humanitarian forces in the Middle Eastern country.

Under Japan’s action plan contained in the amended Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Tokyo would no longer recognize the Artist Record Book (ARB) and the Artist Accreditation Certificate (AAC) issued to Filipino OPAs as a requirement for the issuance of entertainer’s visa. Instead, entertainers would be asked for a certification that they underwent at least two years of formal training in a performing arts institution, or a certification that they have a minimum two years performing experience in an entertainment venue outside Japan.

Buan said this new hiring rule would pose a problem for entertainers aspiring to work in Japan, citing a lack of training institutions and entertainment venues in the Philippines.

She reiterated the law fails to distinguish between legitimate Filipino artists and illegal performers, who enter Japan on commercial or tourist visas and usually end up in disreputable nightclubs there.

Nearly 300,000 Filipinos work in Japan, many of them women "entertainers" at bars and other nightspots. Filipino officials estimate that up to 77,000 of them have entered the country illegally.

Although CALEA admits that the Philippine system of deploying OPAs to Japan has been abused by some unscrupulous industry members, "and possibly in collusion with government personnel," it assured Yamasaki that it is "spearheading a campaign to put a restraint on trafficking of Filipinos not only in Japan but also in other countries and push for reforms in the process."

Tokyo’s campaign against human smuggling came on the heels of a report from the United States citing Japan and the Philippines "as countries on the verge of losing its war against human trafficking."

CALEA however said such report is contrary to that of the International Labor Organization "citing no incidence of trafficking of Filipinos in Japan in 2003."

"The National Police Agency of Japan also reported only 27 cases of human trafficking involving Filipinos from 1999 to 2002," CALEA said.

Mrs. Arroyo has led Philippine officials in urging Tokyo to reconsider the implementation of its new immigration policy.

The President personally conveyed her appeal to Taro Nakayama, Japan’s leading constitutional reformist, when he paid a courtesy call on her recently.

At the same time, Manila is trying to convince the Japanese government to accept the ARB/ AAC as a legitimate accreditation system for Filipino entertainers.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has said the AAC corrects all flaws of the old ARB and is practically "foolproof." But he cited an over-issuance of ARBs in the past three years as the primary reason for the influx of Filipina entertainers victimized by human trafficking in Japan.

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