Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Japan (Ratification: 1932)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, the observations of the All Japan Shipbuilding & Engineering Union (AJSEU), received in September 2014, and the observations of the Labour Migrant Union, received in 2014 and 23 September 2015. The Committee also notes the additional information provided by the Government on 7 October 2015, which includes observations from the Japan Business Federation (NIPPON KEIDANREN) and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO).

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Victims of wartime sexual slavery or industrial forced labour. The Committee recalls that it has been examining since 1995 the issues of wartime industrial forced labour and sexual slavery (so called “comfort women”) during the Second World War. While recalling that it did not have power to order relief, the Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government would continue to make further efforts to achieve reconciliation with the victims, and that measures would be taken without further delay to respond to the claims being made by the aged surviving victims of wartime industrial forced labour and military sexual slavery.

The Committee notes that the AJSEU provides information on legal decisions in the Republic of Korea and China concerning wartime industrial forced labour. The AJSEU refers in particular to a decision of the Korean Supreme Court of Justice passed on 24 May 2012 which reversed the decisions of lower courts rejecting the demands for compensation by forced labour victims against two leading Japanese industries. Following this decision, the Retrial Courts (the Seoul and Pusan High Courts of Justice) ordered the companies to pay compensation to former victims of forced labour. The AJSEU indicates that regrettably the defendants filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice, which means that plaintiffs who have since passed away will not know the outcome of their complaint. A number of law suits have been filed recently in relation to wartime industrial forced labour following the retrial judgment of the Supreme Court of Justice. The AJSEU further indicates that officials of these companies declared that they considered that the issue of compensation had been settled by the conclusion of the 1965 Agreement on the Settlement of Problems Concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea, for which reason they filed the appeal. The union considers that common awareness is developing that the issue should be solved for the sake of maintaining good relations with long time business partners. The AJSEU believes that the issue should be settled while the victims are still alive and that the Government of Japan has the responsibility of ensuring good relations between its Asian neighbours and the people of Japan. The Union adds that a number of law suits have been filed against the Government of Japan and/or industries in China after the “First Middle Court” in Beijing accepted a complaint in this regard. Finally, the AJSEU points out that the issue of military sexual slavery continues to be examined by United Nations human rights bodies.

The Government indicates in its report that it has no intention of denying or trivializing the “comfort women” issue, which was a grave affront to the honour and dignity of a large number of women. The Government remains committed to the official position on this matter and has already expressed sincere apologies and remorse to the former “comfort women”. The people and Government of Japan cooperated to establish the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF) in 1995 to extend atonement from the Japanese people to the former “comfort women” and to ensure that their sincere feelings of apologies and remorse would reach the former “comfort women” to the greatest extent possible. The AWF gave atonement money from private sector donations to 285 women. The Government also refers once again to the letters of apologies and remorse signed by the Prime Minister, which were sent to the “comfort women” who received atonement money. The AWF also provided funds for medical and welfare support projects. After the completion of the last project in Indonesia, the AWF was dissolved in March 2007, but the Government has continued to implement follow-up activities. As part of this follow up, the Government reiterates that it entrusted the people who were involved in the AWF to implement visiting care activities and group counselling activities, which took place in 2015. The Government also points out that former “comfort women” who received or wanted to receive benefits from the AWF were subject to “harassment” from certain groups in the Republic of Korea. It was regrettable that not all the former “comfort women” benefited from the activities of the AWF owing to these circumstances. The Government considers that the efforts of the AWF should be recognized appropriately.

The Government adds that it has sincerely dealt with the issues of reparations, property and claims relating to the Second World War, including those related to the issue of “comfort women”, in accordance with its obligations under the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The issues of claims by individuals have been legally settled with the parties to these treaties, in particular the 1965 Agreement on the Settlement of Problems concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea. In conclusion, the Government expresses concern at the dissemination of information and figures among the international community which lack corroborative evidence. The Government expresses the hope that Japan’s efforts are correctly recognized by the international community based on a correct recognition of the facts. Finally, the Government states that there were no court decisions regarding the “comfort women” and the “conscripted forced labourers” issues, nor any cases pending in Japanese courts between 2012 and 2015.

While observing the Government’s statement in reply to its earlier request for certain follow-up activities to be undertaken by the AWF to meet the “comfort women”, the Committee notes with deep concern that no concrete outcome has been achieved. The Committee expresses the firm hope that, given the seriousness and long-standing nature of the case, the Government will make every effort to achieve reconciliation with the victims, and that measures will be taken, without further delay, to respond to the expectations and claims made by the aged surviving victims of wartime industrial forced labour and military sexual slavery.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 2. Technical Intern Training Programme. The Committee recalls its previous comments on the Technical Intern Training Programme, which aims to develop the human and industrial resources of developing countries in order to ensure the transfer of industrial technology, skills and knowledge. Under this programme, foreign nationals can enter Japan as “interns” for one year and remain for another two years as “technical interns”. The programme is monitored by the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO), under the supervision of the competent government organizations. It was revised in July 2010 with a view to strengthening the protection of interns and technical interns, particularly by granting them residence for “Technical Intern Training” for a maximum period of three years and the protection afforded by labour laws and regulations. In addition, dispatching organizations and receiving organizations and enterprises are prohibited from collecting deposits and penalty charges. The sanctions applicable to organizations found guilty of human rights abuses have been strengthened.

In its observations, the Labor Union of Migrant Workers considers that, despite the changes introduced in 2010, dispatching organizations continue to collect payments in the guise of pre-training or transport fees, which cause debts for interns and make them vulnerable to dismissal or expulsion, particularly as they are not permitted to change employer. The JTUC–RENGO indicates in this regard that 15.9 per cent of interns who have returned to their countries report that they were required to pay a deposit to the employment agency, with 78 per cent of those concerned saying that their deposit was not returned. The Labor Union of Migrant Workers refers to statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare which show violations of labour legislation by employers in the prefectures of Aichi and Gifu (imposition of overtime exceeding the legal limit, non-payment of wages, non-observance of occupational safety and health regulations and withholding of identity documents). The union also reports that the number of deaths among foreign interns is unusually high for persons who are young and healthy. Moreover, it cites a study conducted by the Administration Evaluation Bureau (AEB) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that recommends better inspection of receiving organizations and enterprises and expresses reservations about the effectiveness of the supervision by JITCO in this respect. The study reports labour law violations committed by various receiving organizations and says that the interns are recruited in enterprises that have reduced their staff. Of the 846 entities employing interns, in 157 the number of interns makes up half of their staff, and 34 only employ interns. Lastly, the union indicates that while numerous violations are observed by the Labour Standards Inspection Office, few are referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In its reply, the Government indicates that the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice is working actively to monitor enterprises that receive interns. Any violation reported is notified to the enterprise and, where necessary, the right to receive new interns can be suspended for a period of five years. In 2014, notifications or suspensions were issued to 241 entities (compared to 230 in 2013 and 197 in 2012). Following inspections, guidance is provided to enterprises that are in violation of labour legislation, including in cases of forced labour, so that they rectify the situation. When serious violations are suspected, the Immigration Bureau works together with labour standards inspection offices, and the most serious cases are referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In 2013, inspections were carried out and guidance provided to 2,318 workplaces. Violations of labour legislation were found in 1,844 cases, and 12 cases of serious violations were referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Government also refers to the instructions that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has given to JITCO on conducting guidance visits and referring certain cases to the regional labour standards inspection offices. Between April 2014 and March 2015, JITCO carried out 7,210 visits and issued written guidance in 856 cases, requiring a report on the improvements made. Moreover, a Bill on technical intern training and the protection of technical interns was submitted to Parliament in March 2015. This Bill contains a series of measures, such as the establishment of a technical intern training organization, that would be able to conduct in situ inspections and manage a system to improve inspections through a mechanism of licences, records and authorizations for receiving entities. The Organization would appoint a focal point to receive reports from technical interns. With reference to the Bill, the JTUC–RENGO indicates that, while the proposed measures seek to protect technical interns and to “normalize” the programme, it needs to be ensured that these measures are implemented effectively and are effective before extending the programme to other occupations, as envisaged by the Government. In this regard, the Government indicates that the programme will only be extended to enterprises that meet certain criteria as an incentive to use the programme in an appropriate manner.

The Committee notes that, when examining the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee noted with concern that, despite the legislative amendments introduced to extend labour legislation to foreign technical interns, “there are still a large number of reports of sexual abuse, labour-related deaths and conditions that could amount to forced labour in the technical intern training programme” and it requested the Government to “consider replacing the current programme with a new scheme that focuses on capacity building” (CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6 of 20 August 2014).

Noting all this information, the Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to strengthen the protection of foreign technical interns. Please also provide information on the adoption of the Bill on technical intern training and the protection of technical interns and on the measures taken in this context to strengthen the inspections carried out in enterprises that receive interns and to ensure that such interns have their rights protected and can effectively report the abusive situations to which they are subjected. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistics on the number and nature of the violations reported, the number of cases that have led to prosecution and convictions, with an indication of the situations that gave rise to these convictions.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.