Overview of the Case
On October 12, 2022, the Metropolitan Police Department and Saitama Prefectural Police arrested seven Vietnamese-national men and women—executives and middle managers of the organization—on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (organized/managed prostitution) and violating the Immigration Control Act (promotion of illegal employment), for forcing Vietnamese women into the sex industry by abusing the foreign technical intern training program.
Abuse of the Technical Intern Program
The victimized women entered Japan as "technical interns in the food manufacturing industry," but the actual host was a fictitious corporation, and they were forced into the sex industry immediately after arriving in Japan. Their passports were controlled by the organization, leaving them unable to return home or escape.
Structural Problems of the Program
Various problems have already been pointed out regarding the technical intern training program, such as unpaid wages and excessive labor, but this case is an extremely serious one of "abuse for sexual exploitation."
Immigration authorities stated that they "are considering strengthening the screening of training-implementing institutions and conducting regular post-entry fact-finding investigations," but experts also voiced the view that "prevention is difficult without a fundamental review of the program."
This article is compiled based on publicly available information.