On 14th February JOICFP held a media seminar to report on the results of surveys it had carried out among the public and among Members of Parliament.

This was preceded by a seminar on reproductive health and rights for MPs, at the House of Representatives, where Sumie Ishii, Executive Director, JOICFP, reported on the surveys' results.

Also speaking was Prof. Hiroko Hara, Graduate School of Humanities, Josai International University, who informed the few parliamentarians about human trafficking related to Japan.

In 2004, Japan was put on a U.S. watch-list as being an endpoint in human trafficking. Since then, the Japanese government has made more efforts to ensure that women, especially from South-East Asia, are more carefully screened before entering the country. Cooperation with the Philippine government has been increased and immigration regulations tightened.

Hara pointed out that while this was commendable, there were side-effects on 'regular' workers as opposed to those in the euphemistically called 'entertainment' industry.

Female parliamentarians (top and right) listen
as Prof. Hara, sitting with JOICFP staff, delivers her talk

Prof. Hara spoke about a visit to the Philippines where she saw the lives of women working in brothels. Many of these women, some as young as 13, had children, and although they seemed relatively happy with their lives, all of them dreamed of a better future. This left them open to exploitation with promises of a better life overseas.

She told the parliamentarians that skills training provided by rescue shelters was outdated and not very effective, and what was needed was proper, contemporary income generating activities. ODA, Hara said, should be used to reduce poverty that drove women into the sex industry, not to make them rich but to provide them with simple dignity in life.