In 2009, the Government of Japan found over 400 cases of the mistreatment of foreign workers in a government sponsored training program, including the failure to pay wages and exposure to dangerous conditions.

From 2005 to 2010, at least 127 trainees have died. The cause of death for many have been strokes or heart failures, signs of overwork.

Source:  Hiroko Tabuchi, “Japan Training Program Is Said to Exploit Workers,” New York Times, July 20, 2010.

Police in Japan are identifying less human trafficking victims over the past five years.

Below is the number of human trafficking victims found within the calender year.

2009: 17 victims.

2008: 36 victims.

2007: 43 victims.

2006: 58 victims.

2005: 116 victims.

Source: US Department of State, “Country Narratives: Japan,” Trafficking in Persons Report 2010, June 2010.

Two Japanese men were arrested in Thailand for bringing up to 300 Thais into Japan. The price they were charging per head was $21,000 to bring them from Thailand into Japan.

Source:  The Star/Asia News, “2 Japanese men deported over smuggling workers,” Asia One News, May 27, 2010.

In the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan, authorities seized more than 3 million World Cup counterfeit goods before and during the tournament.

Source:  International Authentication Association, “World Cup fakes war could be won with penalties,” Counterfeiting Confidential, April 2010.

A record 650 people were arrested for child pornography in Japan in 2009, according to the National Police Agency.

The agency received 4,486 complaints of child pornography on the Internet in 2009.

Source: Julian Ryall, Japanese government blocks a ban on child pornography,” Telegraph, May 14, 2010.

Japanese video game maker Nintendo discovered in June 2009 10 websites where their games were illegally downloaded 238 million times.

The total losses to Nintendo was $10.7 Billion.

Source: Saki Mizoroki and Takashi Kamiguri, “Console game makers fight ‘magicom’ piracy craze,” Asahi, April 20, 2010.

According to a lawsuit filed in Taiwan, 8 Japanese Porn companies lose $31 Million (1 Billion Taiwan Dollars) a year to piracy in Taiwan.

Source:  AFP, “Japan porn firms threaten piracy lawsuit in Taiwan,” Google News, April 14, 2010.

Women from the Philippines working in Japan as sex workers send an estimated $150 Million a year back to their families.

Source: Magnolia Yrasuegui and Priya Esselborn, “Philippines: Women struggling to achieve sexual equality,” Deutsche Welle, December 1, 2009.