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FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8863
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCLC/CHILD LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCRI/VIENNA CRIME COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 4627
RUEAWJA/JUSTICE DEPT WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 004953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP, EAP/J, L/LEI, EAP/RSP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KCRM KWMN JA
SUBJECT: ADVOCATING FOR TIP VICTIM IDENTIFICATION 
PROCEDURES IN JAPAN 
 
REF: A. HANSEN + G/TIP + EAP/J + EAP/RSP + L/LEI EMAIL 
 
     ¶B. TOKYO 3186 
     ¶C. TOKYO 3955 
     ¶D. TOKYO 3817 
 
TOKYO 00004953  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  Embassy Tokyo Political Officer met October 18 with MOFA 
International Organized Crime Division TIP Officer Hiroko 
Sasahara to discuss formal procedures for identifying victims 
of human trafficking.  In proposing steps that Japan could 
take in this regard, Embassy Political Officer delivered Ref 
A's "Clarification of Action 3" (full text in paragraph 3) to 
clarify the third 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.  Sasahara also expressed gratitude for Ref C's 
"Clarification of Action 1," noting that the Ministry of 
Health, Labor, and Welfare has begun meeting with NGOs to 
determine how to respond to our concerns about the 
government's reliance on prefecture-level "Women's Consulting 
Centers" to shelter victims of human trafficking. Japan will 
brief the United States on what other actions it intends to 
take in response to the roadmap once it has received the rest 
of the answers to Ref D's "Questions about the Roadmap," she 
added. 
 
¶3.  Begin paper text: 
 
Clarification of Action 3, Tier 1 Roadmap 
 
Summary: 
Because victims of human trafficking rarely self-identify, 
law enforcement officials on the "front-line" of contact with 
potential victims must be trained in proactive victim 
identification procedures.  To prevent victims from being 
penalized as illegal immigrants (including detention and 
deportation), and to comply with Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 
2 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as 
amended, the government of Japan should adopt standard 
procedures for identifying victims of trafficking in persons. 
 
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.  Effective victim identification procedures are necessary 
for compliance with Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 2. 
We have heard reports of women otherwise classifiable as 
victims of human trafficking being deported as violators of 
immigration law by Japanese authorities.  Without formal 
victim identification procedures, Japan cannot guarantee that 
victims of human trafficking are not being deported as 
criminals.  Ensuring that victims are not improperly fined, 
incarcerated, or deported as criminals is necessary to comply 
with Minimum Standard 4, Criteria 2. 
 
Note: These reports come from credible sources.  As stated in 
the Trafficking in Persons Report, the Department of State 
assesses each country's trafficking situation and 
governmental action based on thorough research, including 
meetings with a wide variety of government officials, local 
and international NGO representatives, international 
organization officials, journalists, academics, and 
survivors.  It is Department policy to protect the 
confidentiality of these meetings. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶B.  Victims rarely self-identify 
Trafficking victims have many legitimate reasons why they may 
be reluctant to discuss the details of their trafficking 
experience, especially during initial interviews.  Victims 
may be afraid of reprisals against themselves or their 
family.  In other cases, victims might feel loyalty to their 
trafficker.  Even if victims have personal relationships with 
 
TOKYO 00004953  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
their traffickers, this should not lead to a presumption that 
the person is not a victim or was acting voluntarily.  In 
addition, trafficking victims often have often had their 
trust in people severely violated during the course of being 
trafficked.  Because of this, they may be very distrustful of 
others and suspicious of the interviewer's motives, 
especially when the interviewer is a police officer.  Victims 
often come from societies with corrupt authorities.  Because 
of their distrust of police in their home countries, 
trafficking survivors usually fear law enforcement agents in 
the country where they are being exploited as well.  Victims 
are also lied to by traffickers about police brutality and 
deportation, causing them to believe that authorities will 
treat them as criminals, incarcerate them, or deport them. 
Some victims may also suffer from memory loss.  Due to trauma 
or other causes (drug or alcohol use, for example) victims 
may not be able to remember all of the details of what 
happened to them. 
 
Shame is also a factor in preventing victims from 
self-identifying.  Females from some cultures may be 
reluctant to seek assistance in these cases because of the 
shame and stigmatization that might come from disclosing 
sexual abuse or violence.  Males from some cultures, 
particularly those with a very rigid concept of masculinity, 
may not want to admit their victimization or fear because 
they believe they will risk diminishing their masculine 
identity. 
 
¶C.  Law enforcement officials must be specifically trained to 
recognize victims of human trafficking. 
The dominant mission of law enforcement agents in any country 
is to ensure public safety by identifying criminal activity 
and arresting criminals.  Accordingly, a police officer's 
priority when interviewing potential victims is to build a 
criminal case.  This priority leads police to ask questions 
that may not be appropriate for the proper identification of 
a victim of trafficking in persons.  Without specific 
procedures for identifying victims of trafficking in persons, 
police and immigration officers are less likely to recognize 
the signs that a person has been trafficked.  Prior to 
establishing victim identification procedures in the United 
States, police trained to arrest women for violating 
anti-prostitution laws found it difficult to differentiate 
between trafficking victims and prostitution-law violators. 
Immigration officers trained to determine whether someone was 
in the United States legally regarded victims of trafficking 
as illegal immigrants, undocumented workers, or prostitutes. 
When law enforcement focuses solely on criminal identities, 
innocent victims are incarcerated and deported 
 
Police and immigration officers, especially those who have 
frequent contact with sex workers or laborers, must be 
trained in a formal questioning strategy to elicit 
information about captivity, forced work, coerced sexual 
acts, and abuse by perpetrators.  Although the NPA organizes 
conferences in Tokyo for police that include information 
about victim identification, these measures are not an 
adequate substitute for including formal trafficking victim 
identification procedures in police and immigration officer 
training curricula.  Proper screening begins with an 
assessment of indicators that can be evaluated before 
interviewing an individual. The following indicators can flag 
potential victims: 
 
-- The age of the potential victim; 
-- The nature of the victim's job (Hostess Bar, "Delivery 
Health," etc.); 
-- Evidence of being controlled; 
-- Bruises or other signs of physical abuse; 
-- Fear or depression; 
-- The potential victim not speaking for herself or not 
speaking local language; or 
-- No passport or other forms of identification or 
documentation. 
 
If one or more of these indicators is present, the 
interviewer should pursue questions that will help identify 
the key elements of a trafficking scenario: 
 
 
TOKYO 00004953  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
-- What type of work do you do? 
-- How did you learn about this job?  How did you apply? 
-- Did you pay your recruiter?  Who paid for your travel 
expenses? 
-- How did you enter Japan? 
-- Has your identification or documentation been taken from 
you? 
-- Where is your passport? 
-- Are you doing the job you expected to do? 
-- How soon after arriving in Japan did you start working? 
-- Are you being paid?  How much?  Did you get to keep the 
money yourself? 
-- Did you have to repay a debt? 
-- Can you leave your job if you want to? 
-- Can you come and go as you please? 
-- Have you or your family been threatened? 
-- What are your working and living conditions like? 
-- Where do you sleep and eat? 
-- Do you have to ask permission to eat/sleep/go to the 
bathroom? 
-- Are there locks on your doors/windows so you cannot get 
out? 
 
¶D.  Early victim identification is vital to effective 
investigation and prosecution. 
Actions taken at the beginning of a trafficking investigation 
are critical.  An international survey of trafficking cases 
brought to court shows that the early identification of 
victims and the subsequent responses of investigators 
determine the speed, ease, and success of prosecuting 
traffickers.  Ultimately, the most successful results involve 
first-response agents with formal training in victim 
identification procedures.  Such investigators show more 
sensitivity to the needs of the victims, know how best to 
handle them, and are aware of superior sources of information 
to corroborate evidence.  The fact that local police have 
been instructed to contact the National Police Agency's 
Consumer and Environmental Protection Division to report a 
suspected case of trafficking is an important initial step. 
We hope the Japanese government will continue to promote this 
valuable procedure in addition to adopting victim 
identification procedures. 
 
¶E.  U.S. Procedures 
For your reference, we have attached the International 
Organization for Migration's "Screening Interview Form," 
which provides an excellent example of victim identification 
procedures.  We have also attached an unofficial translation 
of the guidelines for victim identification used by U.S. law 
enforcement personnel, NGOs, and the general public. 
 
End paper text. 
SCHIEFFER