Large Number of Thai Women Forced into Japanese Sex Trade: Thai Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Large Number of Thai Women Forced into Japanese Sex Trade: Thai Official

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Among the total 30,000 Thai women living in Japan, only around 8,000 had legal visas, while most of them were tricked by Japanese Yakuza gangs into working as prostitutes in Japan, the Thai News Agency reported Monday.

Veerasak Khwaisurat, assistant to the minister for social development and human security, was quoted as saying that 10 Yakuza gangs spread throughout Japan forced a large number of Thai women to work as prostitutes to pay off "travel" debts from 500,000 baht (12,000 US dollars) to 2 million baht (48,000 dollars) everyone.

These Thai prostitutes were suffering much as their passports had been taken away from them, and they were afraid to ask for assistance from officials, Veerasak said, who returned recently from a meeting of the Thai community in Japan aimed at finding ways to help Thai victims of human trafficking,

He said that many Thai prostitutes were infected with AIDS and could not receive treatment, but had to struggle on working until the disease reaches its final stages and they had made a last request to return to Thailand.

Those Thai women had very little money to return, and could only send back around 25 percent of their earnings via illegal methods, as they were afraid of being cheated, Veerasak added.

He said that in order to solve such problems, the ministry was now showing a video in the Bangkok entertainment districts of Soi Cowboy and Phatphong in an effort to discourage Thai women from being tricked into working abroad.

Meanwhile, the ministry was preparing to offer savings schemes for Thais living abroad, and next week would discuss with the Ministry of Finance the possibility of allowing Thais living abroad the opportunity to purchase 1-year savings bonds.

He denied that this was tantamount to encouraging Thais to work abroad, but said that it would help Thais already living abroad to gain enough money to return home.

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