''As reported over the past five years, human traffickers subject Japanese and foreign men and women to labor and sex trafficking and Japanese and foreign children to sex trafficking. Traffickers also transport victims from elsewhere in the region through Japan before exploiting them in onward destinations, including East Asia and North America.''
- United States Department of State, 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report - Japan
LABOR TRAFFICKING IN JAPAN
Traffickers are exploiting the vulnerability of migrant workers that come to Japan in search of training and job opportunities, as well as the abuse of the student visa system that results in some Japanese language schools trafficking their students. To learn more, watch these videos!
SEX TRAFFICKING IN JAPAN
Under Japanese law, "prostitution is defined as the illegal practice of sexual intercourse with an 'unspecified' (unacquainted) person in exchange for money".
Due to this narrow definition, the sex industry in Japan now consists of a huge variety of businesses offering services that are not prohibited under the law, known by names such as "delivery health services" or "soap lands". And although there are many workers that made a free choice to work in these establishments, it is clear that there are also many that are in fact victims of sex trafficking. Victims can be male or female, but majority of the victims are female.
To learn more, please register for our free training course on Sex Trafficking of Adults in Japan. It only takes 15-20 minutes to complete!
CHILD TRAFFICKING IN JAPAN
It is shocking to think that millions of children under 18 are victims of labor or sex trafficking. Even more shocking is that many of these children are being trafficked in their own country, or even from their own homes.
In some countries, children are exploited for labor by being forced to work in terrible conditions in agriculture or in factories. Other countries may be known as sex tourism destinations, where commercial sexual exploitation of children is often rampant.
In Japan, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) mainly takes place through JK businesses, compensated dating or by someone posing to be the child`s romantic partner and forcing or coercing them into prostitution. In addition, thousands of children in Japan are groomed and exploited every year for Child Sexual Abuse Material (legally known as Child Pornography). Watch these videos to learn more.