Dokument #1259811
USDOS – US Department of State (Autor)
Prosecution
The Japanese government demonstrated diminished anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the reporting period. The government reported prosecuting and convicting five individuals in 2009 under Penal Code Article 226-2, Crimes of Buying or Selling of Human Beings. The government did not report sentencing data for the offenders. Historically, most convicted offenders receive suspended sentences. Japan does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking laws, and does not keep statistics on the number of trafficking cases it investigates and prosecutes. Cooperation between the different bureaucracies that handle trafficking cases is not always conducive to establishing a clear statistical record that includes prosecutions, convictions and sentencing. The government did not adequately pursue investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of organized crime groups engaged in trafficking. Japan’s 2005 amendment to its criminal code, which prohibits the buying and selling of persons, and a variety of other criminal code articles and laws, including the Labor Standards Law, and the Law for Punishing Acts Related to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography criminalizes trafficking and a wide range of related activities. However, it is unclear if the existing legal framework is sufficiently comprehensive to criminalize all severe forms of trafficking in persons. The 2005 Criminal Code amendment, prohibiting the buying and selling of persons, prescribes penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment, which is sufficiently stringent. The Immigration Bureau and Labor Standard Inspection Bodies continued to report hundreds of abuses by companies involved in the foreign trainee program. While many of these abuses were not trafficking-related, some serious abuses were reported including fraudulent terms of employment, restrictions on movement, withholding of salary payments, and debt bondage. Trainees sometimes had their travel documents taken from them and their movement controlled to prevent escape. However, the government did not exhibit efforts to adequately monitor and regulate its foreign trainee program, and has never criminally investigated, prosecuted, or convicted offenders of labor trafficking in the program. In December 2009, a senior immigration official was convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with labor on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable reviews of residence permits for female bar workers. Corruption remains a serious concern in the large and socially accepted entertainment industry in Japan, but government efforts against such corruption have been inadequate. The government sustained modest partnerships with NGOs and international organizations to train law enforcement officials on the recognition, investigation, and prosecution of trafficking crimes.
Protection
The government demonstrated diminished effort to identify and protect victims of trafficking during the reporting period. The number of trafficking victims identified overall by the Japanese government declined for the fourth consecutive year. Police authorities identified only 17 victims in 2009, down from 36 victims in 2008, 43 in 2007, 58 in 2006, and 116 in 2005. The government did not identify any male victims of trafficking, nor did it have any shelters available to male victims. Government efforts to protect Japanese child sex trafficking victims reportedly improved, but the government did not report the number of such victims identified. Informed observers continue to report that the government is not proactive in searching for victims among vulnerable populations. Although some Japanese authorities use an IOM-issued handbook on victim identification, authorities did not report having formal victim identification procedures. Moreover, although personnel in the various Japanese bureaucracies do have portfolios that include trafficking, the government does not appear to have any law enforcement or social services personnel dedicated solely to the human trafficking issue. All of the 17 identified victims were detained in government shelters for domestic violence victims – Women’s Consulting Centers (WCCs) – that denied victims freedom of movement. The victims had access to medical care and received psychological care from an international organization. All of these victims were identified in vice establishments. Authorities have never identified a trafficking victim in the large population of foreign laborers in Japan, including in the “foreign trainee program.” The government, in partnership with NGOs, reported improving access to native language interpreters. The government appears to do a poor job of informing trafficking victims that legal redress or compensation through a criminal or civil suit is possible under Japanese law. While authorities reported encouraging victims’ participation in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, victims were not provided with any incentives for participation, such as the ability to work or generate income. Although the government claims the availability of a long-term residency visa for trafficking victims, no foreign victims have ever been granted such a visa. In 2009, Japan decreased its funding to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) from $300,000 to less than $190,000 for repatriation and reintegration assistance, which has had a detrimental effect on victim assistance efforts in the country, resulting in foreign victims unable to return home and victims unable to obtain reintegration assistance.
Prevention
The Japanese government made limited efforts to prevent trafficking in persons with assistance from international organizations and NGOs. The government continued distribution of posters and handouts to raise awareness about trafficking. Authorities also continued law enforcement training at the National Police University and with IOM assistance. In July 2009, the government established a temporary working group, which included NGOs, to develop a new National Action Plan to combat trafficking, which was released in December 2009, though the new action plan does not include NGO partnerships. The government continued to fund a number of anti-trafficking projects around the world. For years, a significant number of Japanese men have traveled to other Asian countries, particularly the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand, to engage in sex with children. Authorities have not prosecuted a Japanese national for child sex tourism since 2005, and did not report investigating any such cases during the reporting period. Despite the country’s thriving commercial sex industry, the government did not make any efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or the demand for child sex tourism. Japan is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 (Periodischer Bericht, Englisch)