VZCZCXRO0410
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHKO #3955/01 2390503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270503Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6931
INFO RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 003955 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP, EAP/J, EAP/RSP, L/LEI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KCRM KWMN JA
SUBJECT: EXPLAINING U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT TIP SHELTERS IN 
JAPAN 
 
REF: A. HANSEN + G/TIP + EAP/J + EAP/RSP + L/LEI EMAIL 
 
     ¶B. TOKYO 3186 
 
¶1.  Embassy Tokyo Political Officer met August 23 with MOFA 
International Organized Crime Division TIP Officer Hiroko 
Sasahara to discuss the Japanese government's reliance on 
prefecture-level public shelters to protect victims of human 
trafficking.  Embassy Political Officer delivered Ref A's 
"Clarification of Action 1" (full text in paragraph 2) to 
Sasahara to clarify the first action item of the "Roadmap to 
Tier 1," presented to the Japanese government July 2 (Ref B). 
 Sasahara said she will forward the document to the other 
members of Japan's anti-TIP inter-ministerial committee. 
 
¶2.  Begin paper text: 
 
Clarification of Action 1, Tier 1 Roadmap 
 
Summary: 
Reliance on the prefecture-level domestic violence shelters, 
"Women's Consulting Centers," (WCCs) does not meet Minimum 
Standard 4, Criteria 2.  At present, counseling for victims 
in their native language is not provided at WCCs, there are 
no policies or programs to encourage victim testimony, WCC 
personnel are not receiving sufficient training in the 
specific treatment needs of trafficking victims, and there is 
inadequate assessment of the consequences of repatriation. 
 
Fully utilizing pre-existing specialized anti-trafficking NGO 
shelters, funding their expansion if necessary, or, 
alternatively creating new shelters that are dedicated to 
providing specialized services to victims of human 
trafficking, including counseling in multiple languages, 
would meet the minimum standards of this part of the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). 
 
Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 2:  Whether the government of 
the country protects victims of severe forms of trafficking 
in persons and encourages their assistance in the 
investigation and prosecution of such trafficking, including 
provisions for legal alternatives to their removal to 
countries in which they would face retribution or hardship, 
and ensures that victims are not inappropriately 
incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalized solely for 
unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked. 
 
¶A.  Victims must have access to native-language counseling. 
 
A safe and rehabilitative environment is the foundation of 
protection and is a precondition for encouraging victims' 
participation in investigations and prosecutions. 
Native-language counseling for victims is critical to 
creating a safe environment and essential to the 
rehabilitation of victims, some of whom have experienced 
violent trauma.  Although funding is provided for WCCs to 
procure interpretation services, (usually used for interviews 
with law enforcement officials), WCC staff have confirmed 
that these interpreters are not trained in victim counseling. 
 There are reports of interpreters using the same 
interrogative interviewing techniques with victims that they 
use with criminals, adding to the victims' psychological 
trauma. 
 
¶B.  Victims must be encouraged to assist in investigations 
and prosecutions. 
 
 "Japan's Action Plan of Measures to Combat Trafficking in 
Persons" does not mention encouraging TIP victims to assist 
in investigations and prosecutions.  If government officials 
do not place a high priority on obtaining assistance from 
victims, police and WCC personnel will be less likely to 
encourage victims to assist.  Staff working at WCCs 
acknowledged that they discourage victims from participating 
in investigations because the longer length of stay necessary 
when victims participate drains WCCs' limited resources.  WCC 
staff reported that they told a victim that they could not 
contact a lawyer on the victim's behalf because they didn't 
have any instructions from the government. 
 
The "Manual for Assisting Trafficking Victims in Women's 
Consulting Centers" directs WCCs to "coordinate with police 
and other agencies" but does not give any clear procedures 
for assisting victims in filing criminal or civil complaints 
against their alleged traffickers.  The guidelines only apply 
"if a victim wants to prosecute," but does not give any 
instructions for encouraging victims to do so. 
 
An emotionally safe environment is a prerequisite for 
encouraging victims to participate in investigations and 
 
TOKYO 00003955  002 OF 002 
 
 
prosecutions.  Without access to native-language counseling, 
victims do not feel emotionally safe, and often reportedly 
choose to repatriate before any court proceedings.  In 
addition, there is no way for victims to stay in Japan long 
enough to participate in court cases if they do not want to 
stay in WCCs that are hostile to the expense of a long term 
stay.  Although victims may qualify for "permission for 
special-stay" from the Immigration Bureau, this status does 
not allow for long-term residence, and victims do not have 
access to welfare and generally may not work.  Without the 
possibility of being allowed to live and work freely in 
Japan, victims are limited to WCCs where they often do not 
feel emotionally safe, and therefore choose to quickly 
repatriate.  According to WCC personnel, the average length 
of a victim's stay is approximately two weeks.  Two weeks is 
not sufficient for victims of human trafficking to recuperate 
and make decisions about their futures or about participation 
in court cases. 
 
¶C.  WCC personnel are not trained in the specific treatment 
needs of TIP victims. 
 
Victims of human trafficking require different services and 
care than victims of domestic abuse.  Counseling must be 
tailored to the unique trauma that trafficking victims 
experience, and counselors must have language skills and 
cultural sensitivity.  Although the government organizes 
annual conferences for the WCCs and has distributed the 
"Manual for Assisting Trafficking Victims in Women's 
Consulting Centers" to all the WCCs, these measures are not 
an adequate substitute for formal training.  WCC personnel 
openly say that they do not have adequate training, human 
resources, budget, or guidance from the government to 
effectively treat victims of human trafficking.  By not 
ensuring that WCC staff members are trained to facilitate the 
specific needs of human trafficking victims, the government 
cannot adequately protect the victims, which is required by 
Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 2. 
 
¶D.  The government is not adequately assessing the 
consequences of repatriation. 
 
IOM has verified that at least one victim was re-trafficked 
to Japan following repatriation, indicating an inadequate 
assessment of the possible hardship or retribution that the 
victim would face upon repatriation.  WCC personnel have 
confirmed that there is no program to determine whether 
victims may face hardship or retribution if they are returned 
to their country of origin prior to their referral to IOM. 
Although IOM includes relevant questions in their 
pre-repatriation survey, the questions are not an adequate 
substitute for a face-to-face interview by a trained 
counselor.  In addition, because IOM's involvement in a case 
indicates by definition that the victim will be repatriated, 
the organization's assessment is not conducted within the 
context of providing alternatives to repatriation.  There 
must be a systematic assessment of the conditions that 
victims will face upon repatriating prior to the commencement 
of preparations for repatriation in order to comply with 
Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 2. 
 
End paper text. 
DONOVAN