The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested 51 year old Masayuki Hosono from Chofu City, on November 4 on suspicion of violating the Labour Standards Act by employing the underage girl at his establishment in Yushima, Bunkyo Ward, between June 27 and July 29. The Security Division has not disclosed whether Hosono has admitted to the charges.
According to investigators, the girl represents the youngest foreign victim of human trafficking ever handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
The child had been living with her sister and grandparents in Thailand, attending a state secondary school, whilst her mother worked abroad providing sexual services. In late June, her mother told her they were travelling to Japan for work, arriving on June 27. The girl was immediately forced into sexual services at the massage parlour.
“I thought, ‘No, I don’t want to do it, but I had no choice but to follow my mother’s instructions.”
Her mother abandoned her just two weeks later, leaving Japan alone on July 11.
Over 33 days, the child generated approximately 627,000 yen from around 60 male customers. The entire amount went to Hosono, who then transferred the remainder, after deducting the establishment’s share, to an account connected to the girl’s mother.
After leaving the Bunkyo Ward establishment in August, the girl continued working at another venue outside Tokyo that her mother had arranged.
“I thought my family wouldn’t be able to make a living if I didn’t work.”
However, by mid-September, the child had lost hope that her mother would return for her.
“I want to go back to Thailand. I want to see my grandparents and sister. I want to go to secondary school.”
The girl has since been taken into protective custody as a trafficking victim, reported Asahi.
Police, immigration authorities, the Thai Embassy, and the International Organisation for Migration are now coordinating her case and working towards her safe return home.
AloJapan.com