De Voltes V and Human Trafficking

Japan, land of the rising sun… A country so popular that we often associate it with Voltes V, an anime so popular in the 1970s that featured a giant robot fighting to save the earth from invading alien forces. planet.
While it is true that Japan creates various anime featuring heroes who save mankind and humanity, there is also a deep and dark secret related to the portrayal of these heroes.
Japan is one of several destinations and transit countries to which men, women and children are trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation… The majority of officially identified trafficking victims are foreign women who voluntarily immigrate to Japan looking for work, but not subsequently subjected to debts of up to $50,000 that make them vulnerable to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation or labor exploitation. It has also been reported that a significant number of Japanese women and girls are victims of sex trafficking.
Many women trafficked for the sex trade had their movements strictly controlled by their employers and were threatened with reprisals, sometimes through members of organized crime groups, against themselves or their families if they tried to escape.
Employers often isolated women, placed them under constant surveillance, and used violence to punish them for their disobedience. There were reports that some runners used drugs to subdue the victims. Many trafficked women also knew that they were subject to arrest if found without their passports or other identification documents. Few spoke Japanese well, making escape even more difficult.
Trafficking in persons refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons with or without the consent or knowledge of the victim, within or across national borders through the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, kidnapping, fraud. or deceit, abuse of power or arrangement, taking advantage of a person’s vulnerability, or giving and receiving payments to obtain the consent of the person who has control over the other person for the purpose of exploitation which includes, at a minimum, the exploitation or prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, servitude or sale of human organs.
Victim consent is not an issue when there is coercion or deception.
There are many factors that contribute to the trafficking of women and children in Japan, such as globalization or immigrant labor from the Philippines or any other country; the demand for entertainment services, the role of the Yakuza in obtaining victims through deception, either through the government or agencies within the government.
We may never realize that some of these victims are led into this situation with promises of a better future by certain recruitment agencies or individuals, who have Yakuza connections, who recruit them as maids, waitresses, or even caregivers for some families in Japan.
These people in turn receive favors from the Yakuza as payment for their services.
We should fully promote laws that will protect our brothers from being used as sex slaves in Japan.
In addition, due to the government’s infrastructure, there are hundreds of government-licensed and independent recruitment agencies that arrange the travel and employment of migrant workers.
Many of these recruitment agencies operate outside the law.
Some knowingly used false documents, but were unaware of the degree to which these documents could later be used as leverage against them.
This practice of traveling without documents or with false documents potentially blurs the line between smuggling and trafficking, as in some cases, the women appear to have agreed to, and perhaps have, been smuggled into Japan. However, they have been trafficked if upon arrival at their destination the deceptions of their traffickers are revealed and they lose control of their situation.
The Philippine government is aware that Filipino women are being trafficked.
In early 2000, the Deputy Executive Director of the Commission on Overseas Filipinos acknowledged that trafficked Filipinos include women who are “legitimately” recruited, promised well-paying jobs, but end up as prostitutes; women who leave as tourists and end up as domestic workers, exotic dancers or bar waitresses; and women who are voluntary or coerced victims of the mail order bride trade
The sheer size of the migrant worker “industry,” its highly structured operation, and the fact that it is government-instigated, provide some reason why women may accept job offers abroad.
Furthermore, many Filipino women face a profound lack of job opportunities and little or no opportunity to improve their circumstances. Poverty is widespread and sectors of the population are malnourished.
Many victims of trafficking fall prey to deception because they are seeking a better life or better economic opportunities. They are vulnerable to false promises of good jobs and higher wages.
Criminal groups are to blame when it comes to trafficking women to Japan. “The reality is that human trafficking has become big business for organized crime.
The United Nations must play its part in stopping human trafficking in Japan.
It is a moral obligation imposed on them as protectors of the world.
The ICRC or International Committee of the Red Cross, as a promoter of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, must also fulfill its task of implementing the laws for the protection of these victims of abuse.
Finally, for us, the challenge is enormous. At the very least, progress in reducing the number of women trafficked to Japan cannot be achieved without a discussion on: migration and the need for skilled labor that require rights and appropriate protection mechanisms.
The role of the government of Japan is to ensure that there are appropriate laws, policies, enforcement, and support for victims.

Just like how they promote it by creating these animes involving robots protecting the human race, Japan should act to eradicate organized crime that is solely responsible for these inhumane acts.