On June 25th we hosted the first ever talk sponsored by the English Department on the topic of human trafficking. It was well attended, with an audience of approximately 250 students and teachers. The speakers, Ms. Mariko Yamaoka (Director of “Not For Sale Japan”) and Ms. Kathy Burton-Lewis (a volunteer with the group), gave a captivating talk and distributed literature on their NPO’s activities.
Ms. Mariko Yamaoka of the NPO “Not For Sale JAPAN”
After the talk, written feedback was solicited from the students and it is summarized here.
Students…
- were not aware that a modern day slavery problem exists in Japan.
- surprised at the problem of forced labor in Japan and how corrupt the internship program is in some companies.
- astonished that Japan was only on Tier 2 of the placement scale of countries combatting human trafficking.
- learned that human trafficking comes in many forms and is a major issue globally.
- had heard the term “human trafficking” and knew there were some trafficking issues but did not recognize the extent of the problem.
- held the mistaken idea that most women were in the sex industry because they chose to be.
- realized there was a hidden side of society in Japan that the government must do something about; i.e., stronger crackdown by police of traffickers.
- believe poverty to be the root of this problem and that must be dealt with by not only the government but by everyone.
- surprised that even educated and knowledgable people can still be deceived by the traffickers. [They felt terrified by this knowledge.]
- thought that a system of reporting sexual abuse and/or attempted trafficking must be put in place by police, and that system must not endanger the person reporting.
- saw a need for more media coverage of the issue.
- stated that now that they know about this problem, they have to talk to those around them—their family and friends—and spread the reality of this issue.
- expressed appreciation for the opportunity to attend the presentation and learn about Human Trafficking in all its forms.
The appreciative audience–made up mostly of IE students and their teachers.
