Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Japan (Ratification: 1932)

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that several awareness raising and training activities on trafficking in persons have been carried out, including in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), for police, coast guard and immigration officers; labour inspectors; public prosecutors and judges. It welcomes the adoption on 20 December 2022 of a new Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons which sets as main objectives: the strengthening of prevention of trafficking in persons; the promotion of identification of victims; as well as their protection and support. The Action Plan also provides that the Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons will be responsible for preparing and publishing an annual report on trafficking in persons, through which the Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee will constantly check the implementation status of various measures and verify their effectiveness.

The Committee notes that, according to the last available annual report on measures to combat trafficking in persons, in 2020, 38 victims of trafficking were provided with protection, including interpretation support, medical services and psychological care. Furthermore, 58 persons were arrested for trafficking in persons, out of whom 50 suspects were prosecuted and 36 were found guilty, and the cases of the remaining 12 were still pending trial as of 31 March 2021. The Committee observes that the perpetrators concerned received penalties of imprisonment of up to three years, mostly with a period of probation, and in some cases only fines, for violations of Acts related to immigration control, employment, entertainment business management, prostitution and child protection, among others.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken for the effective implementation of the 2022 Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons, as well as on the activities of the Council for the Promotion of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the main findings of the assessments of the measures taken to combat trafficking in persons contained in the annual reports published by the Council. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officers to adequately identify cases of trafficking in persons, conduct effective investigations and prosecute perpetrators. Recalling the seriousness of the offence of trafficking in persons and the importance of sufficiently dissuasive penalties, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions related to trafficking in persons handed down, while indicating the specific penalties applied to perpetrators.

Article 2(2)(c). Work exacted as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law. Prison labour performed for the benefit of private entities. The Committee notes that, while persons sentenced to «imprisonment without work» may be permitted to engage in work, section 12(2) of the Penal Code provides for an obligation of persons sentenced to «imprisonment» to perform labour. It further notes that labour may be performed in a business establishment outside the penal institution and wardens of penal institutions are able to make written arrangements with the director of business establishments with regard, among others, to the kind of work to be performed, working hours, and measures for ensuring health and safety of the sentenced persons (sections 92 and 96 of Act No. 50 of 2005 on Penal Detention Facilities and the Treatment of Inmates and Detainees, and section 58 of Order of the Ministry of Justice No. 57 of 2006 on Regulations for Penal Institutions and Treatment of Inmates). The Committee also notes that, pursuant to section 97 of Act No. 50 of 2005, income from work is to be allocated to the National Treasury. It further notes from the information available on the website of the Ministry of Justice, that work outside of penal institutions is held in cooperation with private enterprises and all income related to prison work, for which the country has signed work contracts with private companies, belongs to the Treasury.

The Committee recalls that to be compatible with the Convention, work performed by prisoners for private entities must be carried with the necessary safeguards to ensure that the prisoners concerned offer themselves voluntarily, without being subject to pressure or menace of any penalty, by giving their formal, free and informed consent to work for private enterprises. Moreover, the Committee has considered that, in the prison context, the most reliable indicator or voluntariness of labour is that the work is performed under conditions which approximate a free labour relationship, including wages, social security and occupational safety and health. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which it is ensured, both in law and practice, that persons sentenced to imprisonment, with an obligation to perform labour, may only perform work for private entities, in the framework of a written arrangement concluded between the prison management and an outside business establishment, pursuant to section 96 of Act No. 50 of 2005 on Penal Detention Facilities and the Treatment of Inmates and Detainees and section 58 of Order of the Ministry of Justice No. 57 of 2006 on Regulations for Penal Institutions and Treatment of Inmates, after they give their free, formal and informed consent to work and in conditions of work approximating a free labour relationship. It further requests the Government to provide information on the content of written arrangements concluded between the prison management and private entities.