In the early 1980s, Japan began to witness the human trafficking of females into the country from neighboring Asian countries; however, Japan's government did not take sufficient measures against human trafficking. Since 2000, the United States has actively moved to combat human trafficking, and Japan did not fare well in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. According to the 2004 report, Japan was ranked as a Tier 2 Watch List country. That same year, to improve its reputation in the international arena, Japan enacted and revised laws to take measures against human trafficking. This article examines how the Japanese laws were improved and discusses the measures implemented to fight human trafficking through the development of Japan's Action Plan to Cope With Human Trafficking. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Human trafficking Japanese laws Criminalization Trafficking victim

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