ASIA: Japan Urged to Turn up the Heat on Child Abusers

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Feb 10 1996 (IPS) - Child rights activists are stepping up pressure on the Japanese government to enact new laws to deter rich Japanese men from sexually abusing young and poor children in less developed Asian countries.

Activists say more and more young girls and boys in the Philippines and Thailand are falling prey to sexual exploitation by Japanese and Westerners, who if caught, often bribe parents and police alike to prevent prosecution.

And even when brought to trial, the activists say the men walk away from the courts with a mere fine, but would almost certainly have faced long prison terms if tried it in Tokyo.

Current Japanese laws on sexual crime against minors stipulate that those accused of having sex with a child under 13 years — in Japan or overseas — can be tried only if the victim’s parent or guardian files charges within a period of six months.

What the activists are seeking is more cooperation among regional governments and an extension of the Japanese time-limit for which suspected abusers can be brought to trial in Japan. In this way, they want suspected abusers tried in Tokyo even if the alleged crimes take place in another country.

“The going is tough at the moment. The government is dragging its feet on the issue,” charges Shiro Yoshioka, of the Campaign to Stop Prostitution of Asian Children and Protect Their Rights, an Japanese non-governmental organisation (NGO) comprised of parliamentarians, academics, lawyers, and concerned citizens.

“These laws more or less allow Japanese paedophiles to get away scot-free,” says Yoshioka who points out that two Japanese men who had been convicted in 1991 for molesting Filipina children, are now living in Japan after paying minor fines in the Philippines when they were caught.

According to documents provided by the NGO, the two men faced charges of raping and taking obscene pictures of boys and girls between the ages of seven to 13-years-old. They paid the children for their services.

Activists here report that another 38-year-old man posing as a paediatrician, forced nine children to have sex with him. He also took photographs of the children naked and involved in various sexual acts.

Yet, say activists who obtained court documents of the trial, the man was only fined 90,000 yen (900 dollars) when convicted on related charges, and is now back in Japan.