The building where a Vietnamese woman illicitly took a test in another person’s name is seen on June 27, 2025, in Osaka’s Chuo Ward. (Mainichi/Takashi Kawachi)
OSAKA — When the now 29-year-old woman left Vietnam for Japan, she left her three young children behind. She decided to come to Japan to pay off her husband’s debts. “If I work for three years, I’ll be able to live happily with my family again,” she thought, picturing a brighter future.
But a year after her arrival, the small-framed woman found herself facing a judge in court. She had made a mistake for her family’s sake — and paid for it dearly.
The woman, who lives in Chiba Prefecture, arrived in Japan in January 2024. In Vietnam, she had been living with her three kids aged 3 to 7. Although she had made ends meet through work in farming and beauty salons, due to her husband’s gambling, they were around 3 million yen (some $20,200) in debt. With a local salary of around 30,000 yen ($200) a month, there was no hope of paying it off.
Thinking of her children’s futures, she arrived at the idea of going to Japan to work as a technical trainee. Her monthly salary would be around 130,000 yen ($880), making it a worthwhile tradeoff despite missing her children.
Her mother borrowed money from a bank to pay for the approximately 1 million yen needed for the trip. The agency mediating her acceptance in Japan explained that she could stay in Japan for a maximum of three years. Shaking off her sadness, she headed to Japan with a mother’s determination.
After coming to Japan, she worked for an agricultural corporation in Chiba Prefecture, working from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Out of her salary, she sent 100,000 yen to Vietnam, making do with the remaining 30,000 yen. She lived in a dormitory, and on days off took walks around the neighborhood to take her mind off work.
The woman said that she never once did anything for fun while in Japan — it was all for her children’s sakes.
While trying to keep expenses low and leading a frugal life, something unexpected happened during that first summer in Japan. Her boss suddenly informed her that she could only stay in Japan for one year. It turned out that the woman’s “Technical Intern Training (i)” status was valid for just a year.
Recalling being told she could work for three years, the woman was still uncertain if the intermediary agency’s explanation was wrong or if she had misheard.
This raised the prospect of her having to return to her homeland not knowing if she could even pay back her initial outlay of getting to Japan, let alone the gambling debts. To continue working in Japan, she aimed to obtain a “Specified Skilled Worker (i)” visa, but hit a barrier.
A post regarding proxy test-taking is seen on a Facebook post in this cropped screenshot. In Vietnamese, the poster is looking for someone to take the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test for them in July.
To obtain that visa, it’s necessary to pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test. However, the woman had only been in Japan a number of months, and had only rudimentary language skills. She attempted the test three times, but had yet to pass.
Proxy test-taking ‘for family’s sake’
The expiration date of her stay was coming up in a few months. Driven by anxiety, the woman asked a colleague, a fellow Vietnamese woman, for advice. The colleague said she had had a proxy take the test in her place, which apparently was a service used by some Vietnamese residents. She was introduced to an intermediary, a Vietnamese man, over social media.
At first, she was hesitant, but as she couldn’t return to Vietnam, there was no other choice. She prioritized earning money for her family over all else.
She was billed 160,000 yen for the proxy test-taking, but since she had no savings, paid just 100,000 yen. She met another Vietnamese man at a bridge in Osaka’s downtown Minami district, and handed over her residence ID card.
Scores of people are seen on June 27, 2025, in Osaka’s Minami district, which is where the woman in this story said in court that she handed her residence ID card to a Vietnamese man for the purpose of proxy test-taking. (Mainichi/Takashi Kawachi)
That winter, a Vietnamese woman of the same age took the examination using that residence card. The venue apparently didn’t notice the difference in appearance between the proxy test-taker and the picture on her residence card.
The plan worked, and the woman soon received the results: she had “passed.”
Desperation and regret
The woman changed her job to work for another agricultural corporation under a new status of residence. She was granted the Specified Skilled Worker (i) visa, which allowed her to stay in Japan for a maximum of five years.
Everything had gone well — or so she thought. In March this year, Osaka Prefectural Police investigators came knocking.
The other Vietnamese woman, who had been involved in another proxy exam stand-in three months earlier, was arrested, and during the course of that investigation, the woman’s fraud was also revealed.
Through an interpreter in court, the woman stated her regret over and over again, that she had been anxious and had misgivings, but requested the stand-in in a moment of desperation. She was nevertheless found guilty and sentenced to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.
Handing down the sentence, the judge told her that her “actions were unforgivable even if done to pay off debts for the family.” Without making the slightest movement, she stared straight into the face of the judge who was urging her to reflect.
In a weak voice during the trial, the woman stated that she wished to go back to Vietnam and live with her children. According to her lawyer, she was transferred to a regional immigration bureau after the verdict, and is expected to be deported.
(Japanese original by Takashi Kawachi, Osaka City News Department)
AloJapan.com