On the 1st of August, Amnesty International Hobart Action centre ran an action on the grounds of Parliament House, Hobart, in an effort to raise awareness for the "comfort women", a body of women put into sexual slavery by the Japanese Military during World War II.
World War II saw one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century.
Thousands of 'comfort women' were coerced into providing sexual services for Japanese armed forces across the Asia Pacific.
Many of these women are in their later years now, and are still campaigning for some sense of acknowledgment or compensation from the Japanese Government.
Japan still refuses to officially acknowledge its responsibility or legal liability for these crimes.
The government has “callously neglected” a Filipina who was allegedly raped by a US soldier in Okinawa, Japan “at a time when she needed help the most,” the Philippine mission that went there said Thursday.
Gabriela Representative Liza Maza, a member of the contingent, said on Thursday that Honorary Consul Ako Alarcon of the Philippine Consulate in Okinawa failed to provide legal counsel for “Hazel” during the investigation to determine if there was probable cause for the case.
She also blamed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for not providing Hazel with enough assistance.
Maza said that Hazel was a “victim of human trafficking and that the Philippine government had been sorely remiss in providing her adequate and proper assistance.”
“Hazel was on her own during the whole process of investigation given that she has no knowledge of the legal system in Japan, does not speak nor understand the local language, and that she hardly knows anyone because she just arrived in Japan three days before the rape happened,” said Maza.
The team, composed of representatives from the Gabriela Women's Party and Migrante, also obtained a copy of medico-legal records that supposedly proved that Hazel was raped.
“We saw the medical records of Hazel. Hazel vividly accounted to us what transpired the night she was raped. And coming from the perspective of a women's organization which has handled many cases of violence against women, we are fully convinced that Hazel was indeed raped,” said Lana Linaban, Gabriela deputy secretary general.
Last July 15, the mission team, and Melly, Hazel's mother, left for Okinawa to investigate the incident.
Upon arrival, the team consulted with Father Rommel Cruz, legal guardian of Hazel, and met with Okinawa officials.
Maza urged both the Philippine and Japanese governments to conduct their own investigations on the incident saying “Wherever the US soldiers commit crime, sovereign countries should have the sovereign right to prosecute.”
She said that the Philippine Consulate in Okinawa should focus on protecting Filipinas who were vulnerable for human trafficking.
“Hazel is one of the many Filipina victims of human trafficking for the rest and recreation needs of US soldiers...this scenario makes women, especially Filipinas working as entertainers, in Okinawa vulnerable to abuse,” Maza said.
The Toyota Prius may be the darling of environmentalists and Hollywood celebrities, but a new report by a self-described human rights advocacy group accuses Toyota of "human trafficking and sweatshop abuses" in the building of its vehicles.
The National Labor Committee on Wednesday issued a 65-page report, "The Toyota You Don't Know," which accuses the Japanese automaker of using "low-wage temps" to build the popular Toyota Prius. The report also alleged that Toyota has "ties to Burmese dictators" through the Toyota Tsusho Corporation. "Toyota's much admired 'Just in Time' auto parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the trafficking of foreign guest workers, mostly from China and Vietnam to Japan, who are stripped of their passports and often forced to work — including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota — 16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage," the group said in a statement.
Toyota addressed the allegations late Wednesday with a brief statement. "We are reviewing the lengthy report issued today by the National Labor Committee," the automaker said. "As the well-being of our workforce and suppliers is one of our highest priorities, we are taking the allegations seriously." Toyota spokesman Curt McAllister told Inside Line on Thursday that the automaker has no further comment on the controversial report.
MANILA, Philippines- The government has advised Filipino women considering marrying someone of a different nationality to seek counselling. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), a government body, has advised Filipinas planning to get married to undergo orientation so they know what to expect when they wed into another culture.
Cherry Joy Veniles, Senior Officer of the CFO, said the Commission maintains a database of Foreign Nationals who have petitioned Filipino brides to join them abroad. Veniles said Filipina spouses and fiancées are required to register with the CFO before they leave the country. She said this measure was adopted to guard against human trafficking. She said trafficking in the guise of marriage is common among many Filipinas, adding there have been some instances when unscrupulous individuals present themselves as couples, when in reality the husband would just bring his poseur wife as part of an elaborate human trafficking scheme.
The Department of Foreign Affairs requires Filipina spouses and fiancées to attend guidance and counselling programmes as a pre-requisite to the issuance of their passports. The objective of the counselling programme is to inform the couple on the realities of cross-cultural marriages.
According to Veniles, 2006 was the peak year of cross-cultural marriages between Filipinas and foreigners. A total of 24,904 Filipinos went overseas because of marriage. In 2007, when the CFO adopted stringent measures to guard against human trafficking, the number dropped to 23,927. Records show many of the cross-cultural couples were introduced personally while a considerable number met through pen pals. With the advent of the internet, the number of foreigners and Filipinas meeting online has significantly increased since 2002. There are also websites dedicated to finding Filipina brides.
Veniles said 40 per cent of the Filipina spouses/ fiancées' destination is the United States while 30.6 per cent of the spouses are destined for Japan. The CFO Senior Officer said the profile of a typical foreigner spouse of a Filipina bride-to-be is someone aged about 30-60 years old. Americans seeking Filipina brides usually work as truck drivers, while Japanese mostly have carpentry as their profession. The profile of South Korean males ranged between 40-50 years of age with many working in farms and rural areas.
