Dark truths behind Japan’s foreign trainee scheme exposed by Cambodian woman’s legal fight
As more victims step forward, the spotlight intensifies on a system that activists say prioritises profit over workers’ dignity and safety
Employed under the country’s technical internship training programme, she alleges she was repeatedly raped by the manager of the strawberry farm where she worked, forced into an abortion, and threatened with deportation if she resisted.
On Monday, she filed a lawsuit in Tokyo demanding 80 million yen (US$521,700) in damages. Human rights activists say her case shines a harsh light on the systemic exploitation plaguing Japan’s foreign trainee programme.
The woman, whose name has been withheld, claims in court documents that the 58-year-old farm manager sexually assaulted her “almost every day” between December 2022 and April 2023. Even after she underwent an abortion, the assaults allegedly continued. The manager, for his part, has denied the allegations, telling local media that the acts were consensual.
Almost every woman who takes part in this programme is sexually harassed at some point
But her case is not an isolated one. Two other Cambodian women employed at the same farm have joined the lawsuit, alleging they were also sexually assaulted by the same man. Human rights advocates say it’s just the latest example of a deeply flawed system that leaves foreign workers vulnerable to exploitation, calling the programme a form of “modern slavery”.
The technical internship training programme, introduced in 1993, was designed to help workers from developing countries acquire technical skills to bring back home. But in reality, activists argue, it serves as a pipeline for cheap, exploitable labour.
