UW Alum Shihoko Fujiwara
Fighting modern-day slavery
Fighting modern-day slavery
are also trafficked within the country’s borders). Victims are trafficked from China, Southeast Asia,
the Philippines, and Eastern Europe and often end up forced to workfor strip clubs, sex shops,
hostess bars, private video rooms, escort services, and mail-order video services in Japan’s
booming adult entertainment industry.
After being placed on a U.S. State Department watch list for human trafficking, the Japanese
government made several bland attempts to curtail trafficking and strengthen laws regarding
their adult entertainment industry, but Fujiwara contends that the government continues to fail
miserably in its efforts to fight human trafficking and protect trafficking victims.
“Japanese law doesn’t protect trafficking victims,” Fujiwara said. “Likewise, the law against rape
and sexual assault is very weak in Japan. If you robbed someone’s house, you get a much
harsher sentence than if you raped a woman.”
Fujiwara said Japanese culture plays a large role in the government’s treatment of human
trafficking and its victims.
“There is so much violence against women in Japan,” she contends. “It is a very male-
dominated society.”
Fujiwara paints the picture of a rather disturbing oxymoron in Japan. While Japanese culture
views sex as a taboo topic to discuss, sex shops and other adult entertainment venues line city
streets. It is Fujiwara’s goal to erase the stigmas surrounding sex in an effort to educate victims
and the community. She wants to give victims a voice.
“Human trafficking is a really shocking issue, but people in Japan don’t really want to face it,”
she said. “We are really trying to educate potential victims and the community. We have to have
community eyes; we can’t do it by ourselves.”
Fujiwara, the only full-time staff member for Polaris Project Japan, has a long road ahead of her.
But her goals remain lofty.
“I want to see a system where victims feel free to speak out,” she said. “I want to see a change
in the Japanese system, where they protect women and children.”
For now, Fujiwara is concentrating on the Project’s current programs: a hotline; victim
outreach; victim services, including emergency food and shelter, counseling, and referrals;
efforts to raise awareness among social service providers, law enforcement, and the general
public; and advocacy. In the future, she hopes to develop additional programming that includes
a drop-in center and sex education for teenagers.
Fujiwara, who grew up on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, first learned about
the global human trafficking epidemic while pursuing an international studies degree at UW-
Madison. Around the same time, she developed a staunch passion for social justice; a passion
that she says was inspired by UW-Madison staff member Rick Brooks. Fujiwara was a student
employee under the leadership of Brooks, an outreach program manager in UW-Madison’s
Division of Continuing Studies.
“He really taught me the importance of working for the community; working for a cause,” Fujiwara
said.
After graduating from UW-Madison in 2003, Fujiwara accepted a year-long fellowship with the
Polaris Project in Washington, D.C. where she gained the knowledge and skills to eventually
open up a new office of the non-profit in Japan.
Fujiwara’s work has not gone unnoticed. She was recently awarded a 2008 Distinguished
Alumni Award by the Wisconsin Alumni Association for her efforts to advocate for trafficking
victims and educate the Japanese and global community about the perils of human trafficking.
For more information on human trafficking and the Polaris Project, visit www.polarisproject.
org; or for Polaris Project Japan, visit www.polarisproject.jp.
the Philippines, and Eastern Europe and often end up forced to workfor strip clubs, sex shops,
hostess bars, private video rooms, escort services, and mail-order video services in Japan’s
booming adult entertainment industry.
After being placed on a U.S. State Department watch list for human trafficking, the Japanese
government made several bland attempts to curtail trafficking and strengthen laws regarding
their adult entertainment industry, but Fujiwara contends that the government continues to fail
miserably in its efforts to fight human trafficking and protect trafficking victims.
“Japanese law doesn’t protect trafficking victims,” Fujiwara said. “Likewise, the law against rape
and sexual assault is very weak in Japan. If you robbed someone’s house, you get a much
harsher sentence than if you raped a woman.”
Fujiwara said Japanese culture plays a large role in the government’s treatment of human
trafficking and its victims.
“There is so much violence against women in Japan,” she contends. “It is a very male-
dominated society.”
Fujiwara paints the picture of a rather disturbing oxymoron in Japan. While Japanese culture
views sex as a taboo topic to discuss, sex shops and other adult entertainment venues line city
streets. It is Fujiwara’s goal to erase the stigmas surrounding sex in an effort to educate victims
and the community. She wants to give victims a voice.
“Human trafficking is a really shocking issue, but people in Japan don’t really want to face it,”
she said. “We are really trying to educate potential victims and the community. We have to have
community eyes; we can’t do it by ourselves.”
Fujiwara, the only full-time staff member for Polaris Project Japan, has a long road ahead of her.
But her goals remain lofty.
“I want to see a system where victims feel free to speak out,” she said. “I want to see a change
in the Japanese system, where they protect women and children.”
For now, Fujiwara is concentrating on the Project’s current programs: a hotline; victim
outreach; victim services, including emergency food and shelter, counseling, and referrals;
efforts to raise awareness among social service providers, law enforcement, and the general
public; and advocacy. In the future, she hopes to develop additional programming that includes
a drop-in center and sex education for teenagers.
Fujiwara, who grew up on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, first learned about
the global human trafficking epidemic while pursuing an international studies degree at UW-
Madison. Around the same time, she developed a staunch passion for social justice; a passion
that she says was inspired by UW-Madison staff member Rick Brooks. Fujiwara was a student
employee under the leadership of Brooks, an outreach program manager in UW-Madison’s
Division of Continuing Studies.
“He really taught me the importance of working for the community; working for a cause,” Fujiwara
said.
After graduating from UW-Madison in 2003, Fujiwara accepted a year-long fellowship with the
Polaris Project in Washington, D.C. where she gained the knowledge and skills to eventually
open up a new office of the non-profit in Japan.
Fujiwara’s work has not gone unnoticed. She was recently awarded a 2008 Distinguished
Alumni Award by the Wisconsin Alumni Association for her efforts to advocate for trafficking
victims and educate the Japanese and global community about the perils of human trafficking.
For more information on human trafficking and the Polaris Project, visit www.polarisproject.
org; or for Polaris Project Japan, visit www.polarisproject.jp.
| Shihoko Fujiwara recently received a 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Association for her efforts to advocate for trafficking victims and educate the Japanese and global community about the perils of human trafficking. |
| Laura Salinger is a freelance writer based in Madison, Wis. |
by Laura Salinger
Human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world. Approximately 2.5 million people
worldwide, most of them children and women, are considered to be victims of human trafficking at any
given time. Some experts argue that this number is likely even higher, given the secrecy and “shame factor”
associated with the practice.
The United Nations (UN) estimates that the human trafficking industry rakes in $32 billion annually. Profits
apparently outweigh the value of a human life and the inherent right to, at the very least, freedom and
dignity. According to the UN, 95 percent of trafficked victims experience physical and sexual abuse. Most
trafficked victims end up in situations of sexual exploitation and forced labor.
While the UN recently devoted a whole day (June 4) to the issue of human trafficking, the problem
persists in astounding numbers. The fight to end human trafficking is difficult enough in countries like the
United States where, at least, there are laws in place that prohibit such atrocities. Imagine, then, taking up
the fight in a country where the government has historically turned a blind eye to the practice. That is
precisely where Shihoko Fujiwara finds herself.
Described as a modern-day crime fighter by UW-Madison, Fujiwara heads up the Japan office of the
Polaris Project, an organization with global offices providing comprehensive and community-based
approaches to combatting human trafficking and modern-day slavery. A UW-Madison alumna and former
intern for the Polaris Project Washington, D.C., Fujiwara set out to open the first-ever Polaris Project in the
heart of one of the most notorious human trafficking destinations: Tokyo. Like the United States, Japan is
considered a “destination country” for human trafficking victims (although a significant number of victims
Human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world. Approximately 2.5 million people
worldwide, most of them children and women, are considered to be victims of human trafficking at any
given time. Some experts argue that this number is likely even higher, given the secrecy and “shame factor”
associated with the practice.
The United Nations (UN) estimates that the human trafficking industry rakes in $32 billion annually. Profits
apparently outweigh the value of a human life and the inherent right to, at the very least, freedom and
dignity. According to the UN, 95 percent of trafficked victims experience physical and sexual abuse. Most
trafficked victims end up in situations of sexual exploitation and forced labor.
While the UN recently devoted a whole day (June 4) to the issue of human trafficking, the problem
persists in astounding numbers. The fight to end human trafficking is difficult enough in countries like the
United States where, at least, there are laws in place that prohibit such atrocities. Imagine, then, taking up
the fight in a country where the government has historically turned a blind eye to the practice. That is
precisely where Shihoko Fujiwara finds herself.
Described as a modern-day crime fighter by UW-Madison, Fujiwara heads up the Japan office of the
Polaris Project, an organization with global offices providing comprehensive and community-based
approaches to combatting human trafficking and modern-day slavery. A UW-Madison alumna and former
intern for the Polaris Project Washington, D.C., Fujiwara set out to open the first-ever Polaris Project in the
heart of one of the most notorious human trafficking destinations: Tokyo. Like the United States, Japan is
considered a “destination country” for human trafficking victims (although a significant number of victims
| (Top) Shihoko Fujiwara presents at an AIDS Forum; (above) a Polaris Project Washington, D.C. staff retreat; (below) client services in Polaris Project Japan. |