Mother Imprisoned for Trafficking 12-Year-Old Daughter in Japan

A Thai court sentenced a 29-year-old woman to seven years and six months in prison for forcing her 12-year-old daughter into sex work at a massage shop in Tokyo. The pair travelled to Japan under the visa-free scheme before the child was trained to provide massages and sexual services. Her mother later left the country, and the girl was reportedly made to serve more than 60 customers over 33 days while sleeping on a kitchen floor with little money for food. The business allegedly earned more than 600,000 yen before the child approached Japanese police and revealed what had happened. The mother was eventually arrested in Taiwan and returned to Thailand, where her original 15-year sentence was reduced after she admitted to human trafficking and facilitating prostitution.