J A P A N
Sex Work, Illegal Status Add to Risks for Trafficked Women
by Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO — Patricia, a 23-year-old Colombian woman, wept as she recalled the agony and degradation she suffered at the hands of Japanese male bosses and agents who had lured her into the country to work as a bar hostess.
Patricia did not reveal details of her torment at a symposium on trafficked foreign women in Japan in late January, but exposed her utter vulnerability while she worked in red-light districts to raise money for her family back home.
"I was sold twice in Japan," she said, her voice breaking. "I was told I had to pay back a debt of a million yen (8,700 U.S. dollars) and was often beaten and kept hungry by the boss. I was also under surveillance for 24 hours. I still cannot get over the trauma."
Patricia, who described her working conditions as "inhumane", was finally able to seek refuge in the Colombian embassy last year, where she was helped by a counsellor.
She ended her short statement by calling for laws to be passed in Japan to protect women who face similar slave-like conditions.
Patricia's appeal was echoed by experts and social workers at a conference here organised by the Asia Foundation and the International Labour Organisation on trafficking of women into Japan, a magnet for migrant workers from countries from Asia to Latin America
They pointed out that most of undocumented female workers in Japan — 105,945 as of January 2002 — were in the sex industry and faced appalling work conditions.
"Japan is a haven for human traffickers given its lax laws and its rich economy," said Omaira Rivera, social worker at the Embassy of Colombia in Tokyo.
There are some 220,000 people who have overstayed their visas in Japan, 47 percent of whom are women. A good number are from countries that issue entertainer visas for Japan — 25 percent are from South Korea, 14 percent from the Philippines, 13 percent from China, and 8 percent from Thailand.
Speakers said that trafficking is carried out by a huge network of local and Japanese agents working for organised crime syndicates that run Japan's lucrative entertainment industry. Activists estimate that the industry is worth up to 83 billion U.S. dollars a year.
They said that despite the huge problem first reported in Japan in the seventies, the trade has not abated through the years.
Discussions at the symposium revealed extensive research and evidence of slave-like conditions for trafficked women. The highest numbers arrived from Thailand, followed by the Philippines followed by other countries such as China and Burma.
While most were aware they would be in the sex industry, experts say their already risky lives became even more risky after they women were told they had to repay huge debts after arriving in Japan.
"As a result, they were held in bondage by men who were free to impose dangerous work conditions that are directed to break their dignity as human beings," said Keiko Otsu, director of the Asian women's shelter HELP.
HELP has protected more than 4,000 women. Most were Thais, of whom they received 18 in 2002, up from eight in 1998, followed by Colombians — 17 in 2001 and two last year.
Rieko Aoki, a social worker for the Centre for Health and Rights of Migrants (CHARM), says with that these women's passports are held by their bosses and their salaries are not paid for months, effectively sealing them into bondage.
Otsu talked about several cases of intense abuse. A Thai woman who escaped after being slashed on the neck by her Japanese male boss, told of being kept under lock and key with several other women also from Thailand.
She was forced to take customers everyday even when she was sick or had her menstruation in order to pay back a debt of 5 million yen — about 4,800 dollars — which she was told she owed the boss.
Experts add that being in a trafficked state also means that the women often end up physically scarred and psychologically sick.
Forced abortions among them are regular, along with high rates of sexually transmitted diseases. Some report being forced to take contraceptive pills everyday to keep servicing customers, a practice that leaves some sterile.
The lack of health insurance for these undocumented women has resulted in several cases of emergency admittance in some hospitals, leaving them with further bills to pay.
Aoki says that even when some migrant workers come in legally in at first, they are later forced into an illegal status. She says most Filipino women are usually brought in on six-month entertainer visas, but end up with being forced to sell sex.
Aoki says there were times she aided Filipino women who are not paid while they had legal visas, but only get a lump sum after all their expenses have been deducted, forcing many to extend their stay illegally to earn more money.
Some women get married to clients to escape the drudgery. Most of these marriages do not work, and some escape to shelters for domestic violence. Activists also say there are a growing number of abandoned children born to these women as result of sex work.
These problems have been around for some time, but a legislator is saying it is time to face them squarely. Masako Owaki, a Social Democratic Party member of the House of Councillors, is spearheading a debate on the issue in the Diet or parliament, which has not addressed the problem in detail.
The roots of the problem lie in society, she says, adding that Japan's male dominated society has created a tolerance for the sex industry — where the rights of the sex worker are not even considered an issue.
"There is a lot of work to be done," she said. "The first step is to raise social awareness of the issue as human rights violation and then recognise that trafficking is a criminal act."
