U.S. Department of State

Japan
The Government of Japan has made modest progress in prosecuting traffickers and providing better assistance to trafficking victims, and has drafted a national action plan on trafficking in persons (TIP) as part of a broader Penal Code revision that will include a legal definition of trafficking. This action plan places a higher priority on protecting trafficking victims while lowering the priority to address their immigration status. Victims are to be placed in government-run domestic violence shelters in addition to NGO facilities, according to the plan. The Government is considering ways to devote additional resources for victim protection in government-run shelters, and possibly in private shelters as well. Twelve trafficking victims were provided government protection from January through October 2004; an increase over the six victims sheltered in all of 2003. The National Police Agency (NPA) has made limited efforts to improve the handling of trafficking cases and has provided guidelines on victim identification and treatment to local police forces. There are indications of some increase in the number of prosecutions and convictions and in the number of trafficking victims offered protection; final figures will be available for the annual TIP Report. The NPA has taken concrete steps to improve cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies on trafficking cases.

The Government has made substantive efforts to improve the legal framework for addressing TIP and has drafted revisions to Japan's criminal code that specifically criminalize trafficking and increase penalties for trafficking-related offenses. The Japanese Government has announced plans to reduce significantly the issuance of entertainer visas to women from the Philippines. The Government is also looking at ways to improve the adjudication of applications and to ensure the integrity of travel documentation. The entertainer visas are believed to be used by traffickers to enslave thousands of Filipinas in Japan each year.

Laos
The Government of Laos has made noticeable but uneven progress in implementing strategies to combat trafficking in persons. In particular, the Government has recognized the status of trafficking victims and made efforts to educate provincial and district-level officials on the need to protect these victims. It has also passed a new anti-TIP law that criminalizes trafficking, provides for the protection of victims, both internally and through international cooperation, and prohibits fining trafficking victims returning to Laos. With the opening of an anti-trafficking office operated jointly by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MOLSW) and the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS), there has been an increase in the number of trafficking-related investigations and prosecutions reported. The Government also continued to raise awareness in the media on the dangers of trafficking, both at its own expense and in cooperation with NGOs.

Although Laos made progress in some areas, resource constraints hampered the Government?s ability to make appreciable progress in other areas, including additional resources for victim protection. The Government is expanding efforts to work with NGOs and has requested NGO assistance in providing vocational training and setting up another shelter for returnees. The Government has made minimal efforts to distinguish trafficking victims from illegal returning migrants. While the Lao Government enhanced its collaboration with Thai authorities, it has yet to establish an official mechanism to identify trafficking victims among returnees to the country.

Philippines
The Government of the Philippines has made increased but uneven progress in implementing strategies to combat trafficking in persons. In particular, government officials have facilitated an increasing awareness among both officials and the public of the new anti-trafficking law through varied training initiatives and information seminars. With the finalization of the implementing rules and regulations of the new anti-TIP law, there has been an increase in the number of investigations and prosecutions. An estimated 10-12 cases have been filed under the new law. The Government has dedicated four state prosecutors to work on trafficking-related cases and continues to use an assortment of other laws to prosecute trafficking cases. The Government is developing a mechanism for monitoring and reporting on trafficking-related cases that is expected to be in place by January 2005.

Although the Philippines made progress in implementing its new anti-TIP law, progress to tighten the regulations governing the issuance of entertainer visas, primarily to Japan, has been slow. There was also little reported progress by the Philippine Government to address trafficking-related official corruption, especially corruption related to the certification process for entertainer visas. While the number of entertainer visas issued to Japan remains high, the Government recently transferred the certification authority for entertainer visas to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). POEA has increased information dissemination and anti-trafficking training for licensing agencies and entertainers going overseas and allowed only licensed recruitment agencies to submit applications, in an attempt to curtail the exploitation of entertainer visas.

Thailand
The Government of Thailand has made minimal progress in improving the screening (identification) and protection for foreign trafficking victims, particularly Cambodian trafficking victims exploited in street work. Of over 18,000 undocumented Cambodians detained by Thai immigration from January to October 2004, only 55 trafficking victims--all children--were identified and referred to protective care. The Royal Thai Police have charged 14 individuals with trafficking these 55 children. Cambodian NGOs report that Cambodian child trafficking victims continued to be incarcerated in and deported from Thailand without proper victim care or attempts to investigate the trafficking crimes committed against these children.

The Thai Government has taken steps to protect foreign children found in street work by increasing general awareness of the national Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on protection of minor victims, increasing cooperation by Thai police and immigration officials, and training for immigration officers nationally. The Government still lacks an official mechanism to identify trafficking victims from among the hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants in Thailand, and the Immigration Bureau has not made trafficking a priority. Bilateral and regional MOUs do not require the Government to make efforts to screen illegal migrants for trafficking victims. While reports suggest increased efforts by police and immigration officials to provide protection to underage trafficking victims, international organizations and NGOs continue to play the most important role in screening foreign children found in street work for trafficking victims. Protection by the government is provided only after victims are identified by NGO or government social workers.

The Government has expressed strong political will in countering trafficking in persons. The Prime Minister held a national-level meeting of law enforcement and government officials in August to emphasize the increased priority given to the crime. The Government committed additional resources to combating trafficking--most notably a $12 million fund derived from state lottery proceeds to provide care for TIP victims--and has directed greater prosecution and anti-corruption efforts.

Vietnam
The Government of Vietnam has made noticeable but uneven progress in implementing strategies to combat trafficking in persons. In particular, the Government has developed and issued a national action plan to combat trafficking for sexual exploitation. Although there was a reported decline in the number of trafficking-related investigations and prosecutions in the last six months, the rate of convictions was sustained.

In addition to implementing strategies to address trafficking for sexual exploitation, the Government took steps to provide greater protection for Vietnamese workers sent abroad by labor export companies. The Government stationed labor attaches in the nine top labor export-receiving countries to look after the welfare of workers and to assist in resolving workplace disputes. The Government also increased its authority over labor export companies and imposed penalties and sanctions against companies that violated labor laws or regulations. The revised labor code currently being implemented by the Vietnamese Government has provisions that allow workers to negotiate settlements from labor export companies in cases of fraud or abuse.