"「患部見せるよう要求」　実習生が人権侵害訴え寮脱出" 23 June 2023

[ Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre ]

On 23 June, an interview with the lawyers in charge of the trainees revealed that two Filipino women, trainees at a supervisory organisation in Makurazaki City, Kagoshima Prefecture, which supervises the placements of foreign technical trainees, had escaped from the organisation's dormitories in April, claiming that they were forced to live without privacy and their human rights were violated. [...]

The organisation is the Makurazaki City Seafood Promotion Cooperative, which acts as an intermediary in accepting trainees from companies producing bonito flakes and other products. According to the organisation, an audit by the Foreign Technical Training Organisation in May revealed that the size of the personal space in the dormitories and the size of the windows did not meet national operational guidelines.

According to the trainees' lawyer, one of the trainees reportedly had hemorrhoids and bleeding in April and asked to go to hospital, but was told that she would not be let out of her room until she showed them the affected area.

The organisation, on the other hand, explained to the interviewer that they had not made such a statement.