www.japantoday.com/e/?content=popvox&id=490
Koji Hamada, 21 "Trafficking in women is part of Japan's culture. Even if many sex industry shops are closed, others will just open up. The US report calls it an issue of women's human rights, but the reason why many women work in such places is because they like it or need that kind of job, even though there are many other kinds of jobs they could do in a developed country like Japan. Only some women, particularly foreigners, fall under the influence of the yakuza. If parents are worried about their kids, they should look after them better. We should not be ashamed of this matter just because we were the only developed country put on the special watch for trafficking. Actually, the sex industry is supporting a major portion of Japanese business."
Yuri Yamaguchi, 18 "While the pervasiveness of sex-related businesses and crimes is certainly not something to be proud of, Japanese society on the whole is responsible for it. I think this situation is a result of an obsession over sex, which, I am convinced, originates from all the air-brushing and mosaic applied to most pornographic materials in Japan. myself, along with at least half a dozen classmates, all leaning in to get a closer view of the TV screen in an attempt to get the clearest possible view of what's going on, but with no luck. Just like how a rebellious child can't help but do the exact opposite of whatever his parents told him to do, this censorship of such contents creates a sense of curiousity and a desire to uncover what is underneath, eventually becoming a small (or extreme) obsession. The solution to this problem: show everything that goes on "down there" --everyone will find out sooner or later, anyway."
Yuji, 28 "Red-light districts are a traditional part of our culture dating back to the Edo-Yoshiwara period. The only difference from those days is that now the yakuza are managing those districts and it is difficult for ordinary people to run a sex shop business. Today, our economy is going down and if women need some money, they should go ahead and work at those places and need not be ashamed. Women are sometimes too worried about how others think of them."
I have never been to that kind of place, but I have friends who sometimes go to sex shops. Their stories always sound weird because when they go there, they do not have any negative feelings at all. They do not think about whether they are violating women's human rights at all. I think women are degrading themselves too much by letting men come into these establishments. Even if it is mutually agreed upon service by both sides, I still don't understand why they do it. I don't spend my money on that sort of activity and never treat women like that."
Yukihiro Kanagawa, 31 "I worry about the sexually transmitted diseases that many foreigners will bring to Japan. However, I am basically positive about the sex industry. It is a job that men and women have agreed upon to commit to. After the war, they introduced the idea of street prostitution.
Japan is the only developed country that does not make any effort to eliminate human trafficking. While European countries and North American countries have such red-light districts, they are strictly regulated. However, I don't think we should eliminate all red-light districts and sex shops just because of a report issued by the US Otherwise we might as well put our star on their flag. Rather than that, we have to realize that we are wrong and move on to change the society."
Akihiro Suzuki, 24 "We shouldn't worry too much about that report. Basically, human trafficking is a necessary evil for Japan. I think it is difficult for Japanese men to control their urges and instincts. If a man's penis dropped off as soon as he got married, that would prevent him from going after another woman, but it won't happen. Women should know that kind of job is the most classic job for them and that means it is necessary.
Mayumi Higashioka, 22 "We have to realize that the problem is not Japanese law or tougher punishment to eliminate human trafficking. The line between people who have to regulate the trafficking and people who are regulated is getting obscure. Kids perceive sex as a dirty perverted activity and grow up without an appropriate education. Also, according to a magazine story I read, many Japanese people have their first sexual experience at an older age than Europeans and North Americans. I suppose that is why Japanese people live out sexual fantasies in their heads when they are virgins and become incapable of distinguishing between reality and fantasy. We need to have open sex education to change the perception of sex."
Click here to see all messages by mrknite77 (Jun 19 2004 - 11:21) You four bring nothing but shame and disrespect to your own culture! If God is merciful none of you will ever bring any children into this world and further shame your parents and culture! I think I would rather die of an STD then to see any off spring that any of you may bring into this world. This interview must have been one of those extreme rarities where the most unbelievably stupid happened to gather!
Click here to see all messages by enson inoue (Jun 19 2004 - 14:40) "Japan is a destination country for Asian, Latin American and Eastern European women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation," the report said.
Click here to see all messages by TokyoMD (Jun 19 2004 - 16:28) What a load of crap from Yukihiro! As I recall, prostitution was first made ILLEGAL under the US occupation. Up until that time, J-girls could be sold by their own parents into the business to pay off family debts. However, it is a problem that exists throughout Asia, the difference being that Japan's wealth fuels it more.
Click here to see all messages by Tokyoforever (Jun 19 2004 - 18:55) You are asking the best people to ask on this matter. These people clearly have no idea about the trafficking taking place and have probably had little encounters (if any) with the sex industry. Yoyogi park on a nice sunny day is a great place for these types of questions.
Click here to see all messages by getalife (Jun 19 2004 - 19:50) They're trying to evoke a visceral reaction from foreign residents by ALWAYS asking variations on the question "Aren't foreigners weird?
Click here to see all messages by Ame (Jun 20 2004 - 01:05) Don't expect the Japanese government to crack down on human trafficking in the near future as they have strong ties with the Yakuza. "A famous yakuza called Yoshio Kodama, was sent to Tokyo's Sugamo Prison after the war,and among the inmates, was another famous yakuza, Karoku Tsuji. Kodama's earlier activities were in China, practicing Toyama's Dark Ocean Society criminal activities there. Despite the fact that Kodama was designated as a Class A war criminal by the International Military Tribunal, he was released from prison mainly because the Americans needed him for his intelligence on China, which was then under Communist threat. Together with Tsuji, who was also released from Sugamo Prison, they were to form the conservative Liberal Party. In November 1955, the Liberal Party merged with another conservative party, the Democratic Party, to form the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), which run Japan from then on. Over the next few decades, Kodama was perhaps the most powerful individual within the LDP. Yakuza formed and partially financed the LDP and the yakuza dictated the party and country's policies from then on. Kodama controlled who got the job of prime minister and what policies he was to follow during the post-war period. Kodama was appointed as advisor' to Japan's first post-war cabinet. It was reported that anyone who probed too deeply into his background, or his current activities, would be murdered by one of his underworld associates, or by his private army, which was said to number 20,000 men. Kodama's network of contacts reached into every ministry and into every branch of the police, which kept his whereabouts a secret. Another author, Roy Thomas, adds, "Nobusuki Kishi, a former economic czar of Manchuria, and architect of Japan's wartime economy, joined Tojo's...
|
http://csua.com/feed/