As per the US State Department’s annual report last year, it suggested that the Japanese authorities were not able to identify even a single human trafficking case in the Technical Training Program despite insistent reports of forced labor. This triggers the Japan’s labor ministry to intensify its human trafficking measures as of this time.
There were approximately 400,000 as of June last year who came to Japan under the Technical Training Program. The ministry confirmed that there were some foreign trainees who were forced to work long hours at lower wages and were virtually prevented from escaping their current employers.
The ministry is trying their best to up their game when it comes to tracking down these employers who are violating the rights of the foreign interns in the country.
A notice was sent out to local labor bureaus last month ordering them to step up their measures in preventing these incidents and further protect the interns from abusive employers.
Part of the measures that the ministry suggested is a joint inspection of labor standards inspection offices and organizations to closely monitor and investigate reports with regard to suspected human trafficking cases of foreign interns. These cases should then be reported to prosecutors and will be handled hand in hand with the police to save the poor foreign interns taken advantage of by their companies in Japan.
Reference: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210314_03/
