Why US-Japan Bilateral Cooperation Is Critical to the State of Human Trafficking
Kelsey Lechner (Tochigi, 2015-2017)
Human trafficking is a global problem, and it is usually incredibly difficult to tackle due to its underground nature. It is often termed “slavery” or “modern slavery” and may include forced labor, sexual exploitation, servitude, and even organ removal. This crime impacts virtually every country in the world, including Japan and the United States. While both countries have some policies in place to prevent and prosecute human trafficking crimes and protect victims, these policies and their implementation could be greatly strengthened. Furthermore, increased cooperation between Japan and the United States on the international stage could help tackle the problem in the Asian region more effectively.
What Is Human Trafficking?
First, clearly defining human trafficking is important because it is often misunderstood. The standard definition comes from the United Nation’s Palermo Protocol, which the United States is bound by and Japan signed in 2002, which states that human trafficking is the control over another person for the purpose of exploitation.
Human trafficking involves at least one act: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring , receipt of a person and at least one means: threat, the use of force, any other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception , abuse of power, abuse of a position of vulnerability, giving or receiving payments or benefits.
Notably, the consent of the exploited individual anywhere in the process is considered irrelevant in determining whether activities count as human trafficking. (1)
This protocol and its full definition are relevant to this paper for a few reasons. First, the agreed upon definition in this international protocol demonstrates the global cooperation needed to address human trafficking, starting with defining it, and global agreement to address it in domestic legal spheres. The second reason will be exemplified by Japan’s dominant and limited framing of human trafficking, as explained next.
Human Trafficking Concerns in Japan
The two most common forms of trafficking that take place within Japan’s borders are sex trafficking of both foreigners and citizens and migrant labor trafficking. However, understanding of these activities is often limited. The discourse of human trafficking in Japan has generally been approached through two lenses: as a “foreigner problem” and as a gendered “female” problem. As a consequence, human trafficking is usually thought of exclusively as foreign women being forcibly prostituted in Japan. (2) This limited understanding is the second reason why it is important to be aware of the full scope of what could constitute human trafficking.
Foreign women are sometimes sex trafficked in Japan, making it an important issue to address. However, exclusively focusing on the sex trafficking of foreigners ignores the other crimes that fall under human trafficking as defined by the Palermo Protocol. Borders do not need to be crossed for a crime to be human trafficking. Therefore, human trafficking is not necessarily an international crime involving foreigners; locals can be trafficked within their own countries. However, although Japan signed the Palermo Protocol in 2002, it was not until 2007 that the first Japanese victim of trafficking was identified. (3)
Frequently, sex trafficking in Japan involves forced participation in pornography, prostitution, and other sexual services, and people of varying ages, genders, and nationalities have been identified as victims. (4) For example, adults and children are often trafficked for sexual services. In 2022, the Japanese government identified 630 cases of child sex trafficking alone; however, no perpetrators were prosecuted or convicted. In particular, Japanese and other East Asian girls and young women who engage in enjo kosai (compensated dating) and JK (pseudo-dating with school-age girls) are known to be at high risk of sex trafficking.
Troublingly, these industries saw surges of women and girls entering since the COVID-19 pandemic, as rates of unemployment and domestic violence increased. (5) Japan’s male-dominated government and public institutions is often a cause for concern among experts tackling sex trafficking. (6)
Female and child sex trafficking often receive the most attention in the media because they are sensational (7) while labor trafficking and adult male victims are often overlooked. Male victims of trafficking are rarely identified (8)—and therefore rarely protected—in Japan. As Japan faces a growing labor shortage, ensuring that migrant workers are not exploited is becoming an increasingly urgent topic to address.
In Japan, labor trafficking involves migrant workers, especially from other parts of Asia, who fall into forced labor or debt bondage. Two streams tend to be of concern. First, foreign students who enter Japan for study are at risk of being trafficked through abusive and often deceptive work-study contracts. (9) This situation is a concern as the foreign student population is growing quickly in Japan. As explained subsequently, a second, and perhaps more worrying, channel for exploitation has involved the probability of labor trafficking taking place within the Japanese government’s Technical Internship Training Program (TITP).
The Japanese government established TITP in 1993 with the intent of supporting the economic development of lesser industrialized countries, primarily in Southeast and South Asia, by giving their citizens the opportunity to learn valuable occupational skills while working in Japan. In return, TITP helps reduce the burden on Japan’s labor shortage by allowing cheap, unskilled labor to temporarily work in the country without a pathway toward permanent residency status. As of 2023, the program included about 400,000 participants, some of whom have benefited from their participation. (10)
However, Japanese and foreign activists have been raising the alarm about potential labor trafficking within the TITP for years. This is for multiple reasons. A cottage industry of brokers has emerged to match potential trainees with TITP positions in Japan, and the trainees often go deep into debt with in-country recruitment companies and brokers to participate in the TITP, putting them at increased risk for exploitation and trafficking. (11) It’s been reported that once they arrive in Japan, instead of developing the expected skills, migrants are often abused, exploited, or directly labor trafficked through Japanese employers. (12) Instead of being placed in jobs in which they can develop useful skills to bring home, many are placed in low-skilled jobs such as oyster shucking and construction, toiling under illegal and abusive working conditions. (13) Labor law violations within the TITP that may indicate trafficking are well documented; examples include wage retention, illegal working hours, and dangerous working conditions. Between 2016 and 2020, at least 70 percent of TITP employers annually inspected by the Japanese Labor Inspection Office were found to be in violation of labor laws. (14) Labor law violations are not by definition equivalent to labor trafficking, but they are often significant indicators.
Despite the long-known prevalence of labor trafficking indicators within the program, the government only first recognized TITP trainees who had been exploited as trafficking victims in 2021. This is a major concern as Japan consistently expanded the program before the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the past several months have seen movements to end the TITP. In the fall of 2023, policy changes were underway to transform the program and help resolve some of the major exploitation issues trainees face in Japan, including potentially offering a pathway to clearer career paths and permanent residency. A new employment and training program to replace the TITP was recently announced, (15) offering hope that migrants will not be as susceptible to exploitation and trafficking.
While other countries like the United States are also troubled by issues of sex and labor trafficking, Japan’s legal context causes some standout concerns. Disparate Japanese laws have defined human trafficking in different ways, which can cause significant confusion and oversight. The consequences can be severe. When police, judges, and immigration officials do not sufficiently understand what human trafficking is, victims are sometimes arrested and punished instead of the perpetrators. (16) Furthermore, Japan has a worryingly low conviction rate for human trafficking, but when it does prosecute perpetrators, it often uses criminal charges that are outside of core trafficking laws, resulting in rather lenient punishments. These sentences are most frequently about two to three years’ imprisonment and/or fines not more than 500,000 yen (approximately 3,300 USD as of February 2024). (17) As human trafficking can be an incredibly lucrative crime that is run through sophisticated networks, these penalties are not enough to deter perpetrators. Therefore, it is unlikely that Japan’s low prosecution and conviction rates, combined with lenient punishments, do much to deter traffickers.
Human Trafficking Concerns in the United States
The United States faces some similar issues regarding addressing human trafficking as Japan but in a very different legal context. First, the definition of human trafficking in the United States is elastic—definitions vary across federal and state laws as well as through court cases expanding and contracting interpretations of those laws. (18) Unlike Japan, the United States has a specific law targeting trafficking, the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act (TVPA), and an office within the State Department dedicated to the problem, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. However, TVPA’s definition of trafficking is still less comprehensive than the Palermo Protocol. Instead of all the means of trafficking outlined in the Palermo Protocol, only four are delineated in the TVPA, which means many instances of trafficking as defined by international law are not readily identified as such in the United States. Like in Japan, this narrower definition allows criminals to go unpunished, and too often, victims are punished instead for crimes they were forced to commit while being trafficked, such as being charged with prostitution or overstaying visas. (19) Furthermore, as in Japan, human trafficking is often equated to sex trafficking or other forms of sexual exploitation and abuse, and there is significantly less awareness about other forms of trafficking. (20)
There is immense diversity in who is trafficked and for what purposes in the United States. Even though it is difficult to have certainty about current statistics given the underground nature of human trafficking, more robust research and government policies make estimates for the United States more plausible than those for Japan. For example, the U.S. government most recently estimated that 14,500–17,500 noncitizens are trafficked into the United States annually. (21) However, experts do not agree on whether there are more domestic or foreign victims and whether they are more likely to be sex or labor trafficked. While some experts assert that most foreign victims are sex trafficked, others find the majority are labor trafficked, such as being forced to work as domestic servants in homes or as laborers on large farms. (22) Furthermore, some scholars state that more sex trafficking victims are domestic-born than foreign-born, (23) but it is unclear how many domestic-born labor trafficking victims are in the United States. What can be extrapolated from these estimates is that thousands of domestic- and foreign-born victims of varying types of trafficking are in the United States and may need help.
The Issue of Human Trafficking in U.S.-Japan Relations
Just over the past year, Japan established a panel to provide recommendations to reduce the risk of forced labor in the TITP, approved a national action plan to tackle child sex and labor trafficking, and increased convictions of sex traffickers. These actions are documented in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), an annual evaluation of the global state of human trafficking produced by the U.S. State Department. The TIP Report plays an important role in directing public attention toward human trafficking issues in the United States, Japan, and most other countries, which—although not always welcomed by other governments—can help build pressure for reform. Although Japan does not fully meet what the United States considers the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking, it has clearly been making some efforts to do so. As a result, it is regularly classified as Tier 2, the middle of three tiers. To contrast, Tier 1 countries meet the minimum requirements, and Tier 3 countries do not. However, the U.S. government has routinely criticized Japan in the report as lacking “the political will” to address all forms of trafficking and identify and protect trafficking victims. (24)
Although the TIP Report has faced its share of criticism, (25) it continues to be a useful tool in investigating and disseminating information about trafficking. It is a frequent resource for Japanese human rights scholars and therefore helps improve Japan’s data collection, research, reporting, and accountability efforts. Its publication has been instrumental in urging Japan to take more action against trafficking, (26) especially as Japan has demonstrated sensitivity to its international reputation. Indeed, Japan’s 2020 annual report about human trafficking mentioned taking more steps to combat it “in light of the growing concern by the international community,” (27) and its 2023 report similarly states its motivation to be at least partially because “the international community remains strongly concerned about measures to combat trafficking in persons, and Japan’s efforts in this area have also drawn the attention of the international community.” (28)
Initiatives to deal with the fight against human trafficking extend beyond the domestic efforts in Japan and the United States. Both countries are active participants in international forums and organizations dedicated to addressing human trafficking as a global issue. For instance, both nations have demonstrated a level of commitment through their involvement in key entities, such as the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking of Persons (ICAT), the Bali Process, and the US-ASEAN dialogue. These platforms serve as foundations for joint efforts against human trafficking, providing avenues for information exchange and collaborative strategies.
U.S.-Japan Cooperation on the International Stage
To enhance their impact, both countries can coordinate to leverage the international frameworks and forums in which they both play a role—including ICAT, the Bali Process, and the US-ASEAN Dialogue—and further expand their engagement in prioritizing human trafficking on their agendas. Furthermore, the International Labor Organization (ILO), G7 summits, and the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC) present opportunities for Japan and the United States to amplify their voices and advocate for more robust anti-trafficking measures.
Considering the issue of debt incurred by individuals in home countries participating in the (soon former) TITP, one of Japan’s critical tasks is to collaborate with TITP-originating nations. Japan could take a leadership role in addressing debt bondage, labor trafficking, and other forms of exploitation by actively engaging with affected countries and promoting sustainable practices. Such an opportunity may present itself in the Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), (29) in which both Japan and the United States participate. Rooted in ideals of fair trade and anti-corruption, the IPEF can be harnessed to drive collective action against trafficking in the Indo-Pacific region.
Together, the United States and Japan can also advance discussions about counter-trafficking measures at nongovernmental dialogues, such as the US-Japan Business Council. As this council is hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has a task force to eradicate human trafficking, there could be opportunities for anti-trafficking measures to be discussed.
Looking to the future, Japan and the United States should also prioritize coordinated efforts in regional and global settings, facilitating information sharing, hosting conferences, and spearheading improved action plans and task forces. Their active participation in international forums can be strengthened to advocate for anti-trafficking measures in East Asia, addressing the urgent need for comprehensive strategies in the face of escalating challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
By strategically aligning their diplomatic and economic policies, Japan and the United States can emerge as leaders in the fight against human trafficking, not only within their borders but also as influential advocates for change on the international stage. As these nations work together to address the root causes and consequences of trafficking, they can pave the way for a safer and more secure future, serving as models for other countries in the Asian region.
About the Author
Kelsey served as a CIR and PA in Tochigi Prefecture from 2015 to 2017. In 2023, she completed her MA with distinction in Education, International Development, and Social Justice at St. Mary's University, Twickenham, in London, UK, where she currently works to develop education programs for North Korean escapees. Previously, she also researched human trafficking in Japan for the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Person's Report and worked at a human rights NGO in Tokyo. She graduated with a BA of highest distinction from Indiana University in East Asian Languages and Cultures and International Studies and also has worked in diverse capacities in Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Taiwan.
References
(1) United Nations, “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol),” November 15, 2000, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/protocol-prevent-suppress-and-punish-trafficking-persons
(2) Reiko Ogawa, “Use and Abuse of Trafficking Discourse in Japan,” Journal of Population and Social Studies 28, Special Issue (2020): S106–S125, https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jpss/article/view/244678
(3) Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons (Annual Report), 2020, https://kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/jinsintorihiki/dai5/eigoban_honbun.pdf
(4) Kimiko Kuga, “Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery an Discursive Institutionalism: Entertainers, Foreign Trainees and Interns in Contemporary Japan, 1990–2017” (PhD diss., University of Oxford, 2018), https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:33ba3f8b-b946-4947-a24a-fbe23010902a
(5) U.S. Department of State, “Japan,” Trafficking in Persons Report June 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/japan
(6) Justin Stafford, “Japan’s Battle Against Human Trafficking: A Victim-Oriented Solution,” The George Washington International Law Review 50, no. 1(2018): 181–207; Ayako Sasaki, “Are ‘Trained’ Migrants and ‘Educated’ International Students at Risk? Understanding Human Trafficking in Japan,” Journal of Human Trafficking 6, no. 2 (March 14, 2020): 244–254, https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2020.1691875; Chie Noyori-Corbett and David P. Moxley, “Addressing Female Sex Trade Human Trafficking in Japan through NGO Advocacy Networks,” International Social Work 61, no. 6 (November 2018): 954–967, https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872817695383
(7) Maria Beatriz Alvarez and Edward J. Alessi, “Human Trafficking Is More Than Sex Trafficking and Prostitution: Implications for Social Work,” Affilia 27, no. 2 (May 2012): 142–152, https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109912443763
(8) Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons (Annual Report), 2023, https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/jinsintorihiki/dai9/eigoban_honbun.pdf
(9) U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report June 2023.
(10)Glenda S. Roberts, “An Immigration Policy by Any Other Name: Semantics of Immigration to Japan,” Social Science Japan Journal 21, no. 1 (January 2018): 89–102, https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyx033; see also Sasaki, “Are ‘Trained’ Migrants and ‘Educated’ Workers At Risk?” and U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report June 2023.
(11) Eugene Lang, “Japan Grapples with Foreign Worker Protection as Border Reopens,” Nikkei Asia, October 13, 2022, https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Comment/Japan-grapples-with-foreign-worker-protection-as-border-reopens
(12) U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report July 2022.
(13) “The Worst Internship Ever: Japan’s Labor Pains,” Vice News, April 30, 2015, https://youtu.be/wt__lHCuH5g?si=mXQvXPIUFu72gns6, last viewed March 7, 2024.
(14) Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Ginou Jisshuusei No Jisshuu-Jisshisha Ni Tai Suru Kantoku-Shidou, Souken Nado No Joukyou (Reiwa 2 Nen) (技能実習生の実習実施者に対する監督指導、送検等の状況（令和２年）),” 2020, https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_20618.html
(15) Yomiuri Shumbun, “End of Technical Intern Program: Use Reformed System to Improve Working Environment for Foreigners,” Japan News, February 10, 2024, https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/yomiuri-editorial/20240210-168083/
(16) Noyori-Corbett and Moxley, “Addressing Female Sex Trade”; Ogawa, “Use and Abuse of Trafficking.”
(17) Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons, “Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons (2023).”
(18) Julie Dahlstrom, “The Elastic Meaning(s) of Human Trafficking,” California Law Review 108, no. 2 (2020): 379–437, available at SSRN, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3500100
(19) Michelle Madden Dempsey, “What Counts as Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation? How Legal Methods Can Improve Empirical Research,” Journal of Human Trafficking 3, no. 1 (January 2017): 61–80, https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2017.1280325
(20) Alvarez and Alessi, “Human Trafficking.”
(21) Heather J. Clawson, Nicole Dutch, Amy Solomon, and Lisa Goldblatt Grace, “Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009, https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/human-trafficking-within-united-states-review-literature-0
(22) “Counteracting the Bias: The Department of Labor’s Unique Opportunity to Combat Human Trafficking,” Harvard Law Review 126, no. 4 (2013):1012–1033. See also Laura Simich, Lucia Goyen, Andrew Powell, and Karen Mallozzi, “Improving Human Trafficking Victim Identification—Validation and Dissemination of a Screening Tool,” Vera Institute of Justice, 2014, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/246712.pdf
(23) Lara B. Gerassi and Andrea J. Nichols, Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Prevention, Advocacy, and Trauma-Informed Practice (New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2018).
(24) U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report June 2023.
(25) Jason Szep and Matt Spetalnick, “Special Report: U.S. State Department Watered Down Human Trafficking Report,” Reuters, August 3, 2015, https://news.trust.org/item/20150803190313-bhwh0
(26) Kuga, “Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery.”
(27) Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons, “Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons (2020).”
(28) Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons, “Measures to Combat Trafficking of Persons (2023).”
(29) David Boling, “US-Japan Trade Relations: From Adversaries to Allies,” JETS on Japan Forum, April 2023, https://www.usjetaa.org/news/us-japan-trade-relations-from-adversaries-to-allies
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