Faced with decreasing population, the local government of Asahi town in Yamagata Prefecture launched in 1985 a project on finding non-Japanese wives for the local men. The local government encouraged their male residents, who had difficulty getting Japanese wives, to go to the Philippines to find their ‘brides.’
In collaboration with a private matchmaking agency, the project facilitated meetings in the Philippines of groups of Japanese men and Filipino women. Subsequently, a number of Filipino women got married to the local Japanese men and settled in Asahi town.
These international marriages attracted much public attention and led many other local governments in the rural regions throughout Japan to follow suit. The practice had become known as “importation of brides.”1 Many more women from the Philippines and other countries in Asia2 married Japanese men and settled in rural towns.
These marriages contributed to the steep rise in the number international marriages in Japan during the decades of 1980s till 1990s. A 2000 study on Yamagata prefecture, where one in fourteen marriages was an international marriage, showed that the rate of increase in the number of international marriages in the prefecture was much higher than the national average as shown in the table below.3
|
|
1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 |
| Japan | 984,455 | 1,218,891 | 1,320,748 | 1,362,371 | 1,482,707 | 1,556,113 | 1,778,462 |
| % Increase |
|
24% | 8% | 3% | 9% | 5% | 14% |
| Yamagata | 1,381 | 2,171 | 2,726 | 3,122 | 4,080 | 5,368 | 6,853 |
| % Increase |
|
57% | 26% | 15% | 31% | 32% | 28% |
The initial Japanese mass media reports on these local government initiatives were positive, and projected the image of ‘Cheerful Brides from the South.’ The non-Japanese wives took the place of young Japanese women who shied away from living in agricultural households, where they were expected to produce the offspring who would succeed the household head and to perform the duty of working in the agricultural field.
However, questions and criticisms of these local government initiatives soon followed. Critics argued that it was improper for local governments to have an international matchmaking policy that involved short periods of interview through interpreters of prospective non-Japanese wives, selection by Japanese men of their respective brides from several candidates, and high service fees paid to private matchmaking agencies. Private matchmaking agencies reportedly received about two million Japanese Yen of commission per applicant. In response, the local governments gradually stopped intervening in the international marriage initiatives. The private matchmaking agencies, in turn, gradually took full control of the international marriage business.
Several years later, the problems regarding international marriages came to light. Some of the non-Japanese wives escaped from the rural communities to seek freedom. They reported having unbearable lives in a patriarchal rural environment, and experiencing discrimination.
The Japanese husbands believed that that they had the right to control their non-Japanese wives since they were virtually “bought” after paying so much money to get them. But the non-Japanese wives and their families actually received very minimal amount as betrothal money. A major portion of the expense went to the matchmaking agencies.
The non-Japanese wives complained that they were not properly informed about Japan before leaving their country. They were sometimes told by matchmaking agencies that they were going to Tokyo, rather than to agricultural communities affected by heavy snow during winter.
There is no data on the percentage of the international marriages that were arranged by international matchmaking agencies. It seems that many international marriages involving Chinese women were arranged by matchmaking agencies. At the same time, networks within the communities of non-Japanese wives helped introduce relatives and friends to Japanese males that led to international marriages.
Many Japanese matchmaking agencies have websites that advertise their business.4 While some agencies introduce women from different countries, others deal with a particular country only. The matchmaking agencies exaggerate the advantages of getting wives from the countries they work on.
Regarding China, the advertisements state:
For the Philippines, they say
Filipinas do not mind differences in age. They would devote themselves in taking care of elderly people, as they believe it is a duty of the‘bride’. If males are more than 50 years old, females at the age of 22 to 27 might be suitable.
The websites carry pictures of women along with their profiles - name and other personal information. Some websites indicate whether or not the women have an experience in caring for the elderly people. This information relates to the needs in an aging Japanese society and the shortage of care workers, and shows the ‘real purpose’ of accepting ‘brides from Asian countries.’ Such advertisements increase the demand for non-Japanese brides.
The matchmaking agencies charge fees, paid as commission, ranging from two to three million Japanese Yen (17,000 – 26,000 US dollars). Some charge additional expenses, amounting to five million Japanese Yen (43,000 US dollars). People who paid the high fees to unscrupulous agencies but failed to get their brides, created their own websites to warn possible victims.
No law exists to regulate the commercial activities of matchmaking agencies. They remained uncontrolled for decades, similar to that of matchmaking agencies exclusively for Japanese couples. In 2007, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) received a total of 3,000 complaints over marriage services.
Two reports (2006 and 2007) of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on the situation of the marriage industry in Japan revealed the existence of 3,700 to 3,900 firms (70% of them comprised of one-person or very small agencies) that provide services ranging from traditional meeting arrangement (omiai) to Internet-based matchmaking. The total annual sales in the matchmaking industry amounted to 50-60 billion Yen (500 to 600 million US dollars). 600,000 people (men and women) have availed of the services, but there is no breakdown of the data for international marriages.
The reports likewise included complaints from the customers regarding provision of false information (both on the prospective partners and the terms of their contract with the matchmaking agencies). Regarding international marriages, a client complained about the disappearance of his Chinese wife two months after arriving in Japan. Another complained of the non-arrival of Filipino wife though he paid two and a half million Japanese Yen to the matchmaking agency.
In response to this situation, the industry, academics and the government jointly established in May 2007 the Service Productivity & Innovation for Growth (SPRING), with the task of implementing a voluntary certification system. SPRING released the certification guidelines for matchmaking and marriage information services in July 2008. The guidelines aim to protect the ‘consumers’ by requesting the matchmaking agencies to provide proper information, such as service fee, and to refrain from making exaggerated advertisements.
Based on the guidelines, ‘independent’ organizations, mostly established jointly by the firms within the industry, such as the Japan Lifedesign Counselors’ Association (JLCA), a non-profit organization, would certify applicant matchmaking agencies by issuing the ‘Certified Matchmaking Service’ (CMS) mark.
The system started on 1 January 2009. Each office engaged in matchmaking business could apply for the certification on condition that the office is located in Japan, and has been operating the business for more than a year by an owner who has not violated the business ethics and relevant laws and regulations within the past three years. An increasing number of matchmaking agencies applying for the certification has been reported.
Because this is just a voluntary certification system, there is no legal obligation to comply with the guidelines. The actual effect has not been evaluated yet. In addition, when it comes to international marriage, the clients (mostly Japanese men) pay service fees to matchmakers. This certification system aims to protect the interest of clients, or more explicitly ‘consumers’. It might benefit Japanese men, but not the prospective wives from developing countries.
The lack of legal support for the regulation of the Japanese marriage industry provides sufficient space for abusive matchmaking agencies to facilitate the entry of non-Japanese “wives” to Japan for exploitation purposes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan, in line with its action plan on combating trafficking in persons, warns visa applicants to avoid becoming a trafficking victim through marriage arrangement. As a “tip” to visa applicants, MOFA states:5
[Has] anyone forced or [made arrangement for] you to marry a Japanese national so that you can work in Japan? Do you have to pay [some amount] monthly to your 'husband' after successfully entering ... Japan as his 'wife'? A FAKE or CONVENIENT MARRIAGE could [result into] human trafficking.
This statement reflects the recognition by the Japanese government of the possibility of human trafficking being done through the marriage-brokering route. It also raises the probability that the traffickers have already victimized some non-Japanese women brought to Japan as “wives.”
As earlier mentioned, the non-Japanese wives are in vulnerable situation and face other human rights problems, such as discrimination. Japanese media report on these problems alongside stories of adjustment by non-Japanese wives to life in traditional rural households.6
Mr. Nobuki Fujimoto is a staffmember of HURIGHTS OSAKA.
For further information, please contact HURIGHTS OSAKA.
1. The "importation of brides" in Asahi town was quickly followed by the towns of "Okura in Yamagata, Azuka and Yuzawa in Niigata, Higashiyama in Tokushima, Masuda in Akita and Sawauchi in Iwate.” See Voice of Women (Colombo), "Sri-Lankan Brides in Japan," December 1988 - May 1989, available in the website of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, www.wluml.org/node/258.
2. There were also brides from Taiwan, Korea, China, Indochina, South Pacific Islands, and Sri Lanka. See Voice of Women, ibid. See also Chris Burgess, "(Re)Constructing Boundaries: International Marriage Migrants in Yamagata as Agents of Multiculturalism" in Nelson H. H. Graburn, John Ertl, R. Kenji Tierney, editors, Multiculturalism in the New Japan: Crossing the Boundaries Within (New York: Berghahn Press, 2008).
3. Burgess, page 66.
4. In late 1980s, the Voice of Women reported that the "Private enterprise importing Asian brides as commodities has adopted three common strategies to cultivate new markets:
1) Agency through membership: This system follows the existing marriage agency system for Japanese. It offers arranged meetings with imported brides-to-be and men. The main targets are eldest sons of farmers, men supporting and living with their elderly parents, workers with little education, older men wanting to marry, multiple divorcees, mentally and physically disabled men, and socially handicapped men.
2) Explanation and exhibition: Slick pamphlets are sent to municipal offices, agricultural co-operatives, and community centres announcing an opportunity to meet potential brides. They emphasise the naivety and gentleness of Asian women, while also explaining the legal procedures necessary for an international marriage.
3) Media Advertising: Repeated adverts in the evening papers and sports and leisure papers, usually in the column for "soapland". An example from the Dec. 2, 1987 edition of the Naigai Times speaks shamelessly for itself. Both public and private sectors play on the fears and needs of Japanese Men. "You are over 35 so you cannot hope to marry a Japanese woman. You are choosing the personality, not the nationality". "Short, fat, and ugly" is an effective threat in this business."
5. Japan's Visa Policy in Accordance with Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons, August 2007(Updated in February 2009) , www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/topics/traffick.html
6. See for example, Leotes Marie T. Lugo, “Filipinas at home in rural Japan,” The Asahi Shimbun Asia Network, www.asahi.com/international/aan/kisha/kisha_008.html