2007.03.02 up
The Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan recently revealed the number of the victims of trafficking who were protected or given support for repatriation in the year 2006[PDF22KB](Japanese). According to the announcement, 47 foreign women were given such protection or support, representing 59% decline from the figure in 2005 (115, all female). In particular, a marked decrease was observed in the number of the victims who had resided as "entertainers" (from 68 to 18) and that of those who had come to Japan as "entertainers" and overstayed their visas or were otherwise in violation of the Immigration Law (from 6 to none).
29 victims came from the Philippines (47 in 2005) and 14 from Indonesia (41 in 2005), representing 92% of the total number of the victims. There were three Thais and one Korean as well. The average age were 22.2, having lowered from 24 in the previous year; the number of the victims under the age of eighteen increased from 6 to 9.
While 27 of the victims overstayed their visas at the time of protection, all of them were given special permission to stay, according to the Immigration Bureau.
Source: "On the number of the victims of trafficking who were protected or given support for return in the year 2006" [PDF 22KB], press release issued by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice of Japan [Japanese]
See also:
· "The Number of Victims Trafficked to Japan Were 117 in 2005: National Police Agency", HURIGHTS OSAKA News in Brief (February 2006) [Japanese]
· "Issue of Trafficking in Women & Children in Japan and the Challenges aimed to Eliminate the Trafficking" (Hurights Osaka)