Fusae Oshita, National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, Japan
Tomoko Kashiwazaki, APWLD Programme Assistant

Migrant women in the Japanese society

The number of people who entered Japan in 2005 was about 7.5 mln. 46 percent of them are women and almost 70 percent are from Asian countries. According to the statistics of the Japanese Immigration Bureau, the number of overstayers reached 193,745 in 2005. 48 percent of them are women, mainly from Korea, Philippines and Thailand.

Throughout the 1980s-90s, the number of migrant women marrying Japanese men and living in Japan had been increasing. In the 80's local governments initiated a policy encouraging marriage of rural Japanese men to foreign women, mainly from China and South Korea. In the 90's in the cities, many women who came to Japan on entertainment or tourist visa stayed to live with Japanese men. In many cases, male partners were not willing to register the marriage and help the migrant women to obtain a valid visa. In the late 90's, NGOs supporting migrant women started receiving phone calls from migrant women reporting violence by the husband. Migrant women are more vulnerable to violence and abuse because of intersectional discrimination based on her nationality/ethnicity, economic status, different culture and language, in additions to being a woman.

It is difficult for migrant women to access information on public support systems, and the availability of the support is limited depending on her legal status. At public service centres, instead of receiving support and care women are sometimes suggested that they should return to their home countries. When they have to seek help at the police station they are often arrested for not having a valid visa. A Philippine woman with two babies who escaped from the violent husband and came to the police seeking help was

arrested for violation of immigration laws instead of finding safety at the police station. The woman finally had to return to her violent husband for fear of arrest and deportation because of her illegal status. The usual excuse of the police is "it is difficult to identify a migrant woman as a victim of domestic violence since interviewing is impossible due to the language barrier."

Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and Protection of Victims

In Japan, Law for the Prevention of Spousal Violence and Protection of Victims (hereafter, the Law) was enacted in October 2001 and was first amended in December 2004. Women's groups formed a network and started lobbying toward the 2007 amendment. The Japanese National Network in Solidarity with Migrant Workers (SMJ) has joined the women's network and has been involved in the advocacy work to raise awareness on the particular needs of migrant women to be recognised in the Law.

The significance of the new Law at the time was that it recognised domestic violence as a crime and made it state responsibility to address it. Protection regulations and legal sanctions provided by the Law were found effective in terms of short term protection of women from abusive husbands. The Law was important for women victims of domestic violence seeking protection as well as for the Japanese society in that it established that violence is not tolerable even at home between a couple. The new Law, however, had its limitations:

1. it covered violence by a partner of formal or informal marriage but not by a divorced partner or a boyfriend;
2. measures for protection were short term and did not provide long term support for women to enable them to restore their lives; and
3. there was no particular provision for migrant women.
   
   

Women's networks
SMJ joined the "Network on revising the Law" formed in 2003 by women victims of domestic violence, their support groups and shelter staff aiming to raise awareness among the members of the Japanese Parliament and Ministries on the plight of victims of domestic violence and to lobby for the first amendment of the Law in 2004. The Network members organised several informal meetings with MPs, government officials and the media where the victims talked about their situations and raised issues to be considered for amendment of the Law.
SMJ proposed amendments to the Law requiring that the Law should provide:

• protection to all victims regardless of nationality or visa status;
• services and information sensitive to different cultures and available in several languages;
• prioritise protection of victims of domestic violence over their visa status;
• relax the requirements on the visa status;
• social aid to victims of domestic violence who do not have valid visa to cover their medication and financially support them to rebuild her life.

As a result of persistent lobbying by the SMJ as a part of the Network, needs of migrant women were considered, and the 2004 Amendment to the Law included "… respect the human rights of these victims regardless of their nationality…". A special notice was issued by the Ministry of Justice which encouraged the officials to prioritise protection of victims over the visa status. Immigration law, which was also one of the concerns of the CEDAW Committee in 2003, was partly relaxed. Provision of adequate services, including information in several languages by the local government, and duty of the local government agencies to implement the Law were also included.

Since the revised law came into effect in December 2004, further gaps have been identified by the Network:

• provision for protection should include threats by phone, fax and email;
• the Law should cover violence not only by partners of formal or informal marriage but also divorced partners and boyfriends;
• the police is slow to respond on the cases and unwilling to arrest perpetrators of domestic violence;
• local government agencies should improve its bureaucratic procedures and provide all information and services available at One Stop Centres;
• the Japanese government should provide funding to private shelters mainly operated by unpaid volunteer staff;
• children's training programme on nonviolence should be developed and conducted to prevent domestic violence;
• the 2004 amendment provision "to respect the human rights of the victims regardless of their nationality…" proved to be insufficient to enforce the police to protect victims who do not have valid visa.

Towards the second amendment in 2007

The Network has called the members and started its coordinated action once more towards the second amendment due in 2007. The Network organised the first meeting with MPs in June 2006. Over 100 people participated in the meeting, including 10 pro - amendment MPs. The MPs who worked with the Network in drafting the first amendment to the Law noted that their past collaboration with the Network was effective and expressed their interest in working with women's groups towards the 2007 amendment. SMJ is working on specific articles to cover the migrant women's needs, including "protection regardless of visa status" and a clear mechanism of protection at the police.

The resource book containing best practices, case studies, guidelines for an effective presentation, drafting clear recommendations and organising media based on women's experiences of lobbying for the first amendment has been published. The Network members have also been giving lectures on their successful actions to share with university students of public policy.

An international symposium on domestic violence is planned for next year in Japan, convened by Korean Women's Hotline and organised by one of the groups in the Network. Issues such as gaps in the Law and its implementation, better cooperation between the civil society and government agencies, etc. will be shared and discussed by over a thousand of women's support groups for victims of domestic violence and government officials from across the East Asian region.