(C) asahi.com

Tokyo, Japan – Japanese authorities are currently investigating a shocking case of suspected human trafficking and child exploitation after a 12-year-old Thai girl was rescued from a Tokyo massage parlor, where she was allegedly coerced into providing sexual services to male customers. The case has deeply disturbed the public, as evidence suggests the girl was sold into the industry by her own mother.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed the arrest of a 50-year-old Japanese man, identified by local media as Masayuki Hosono, the owner of an unmarked massage parlor in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward. He was apprehended on suspicion of violating labor standards laws by employing the minor, though police are treating the incident as a child sexual exploitation and human trafficking case.

The victim, a girl from northern Thailand, arrived in Japan in late June with her mother on a short-term, 15-day tourist visa. Immediately upon arrival, the mother escorted the girl to the massage establishment. The following day, the mother vanished, abandoning her daughter at the parlor. Unable to speak Japanese and unfamiliar with the country, the girl was left to live and work within the premises, where she was forced to provide sexual services.

Local reports indicate that the mother briefly returned to the parlor once before ultimately leaving Japan in mid-July. Her current whereabouts remain unknown.

During approximately one month at the first establishment, the young girl reportedly earned 600,000 yen (approximately 5,640,000 KRW or $3,800 USD), which was transferred to a bank account linked to her mother. After leaving this parlor in August, the girl was then reportedly sent to another massage establishment in a different region of Japan, introduced to her by her mother.

Over the following months, the girl repeatedly expressed her desire to return to Thailand to acquaintances who were also foreign nationals. However, she was reportedly discouraged from seeking help, with those around her warning that she would be punished by authorities for overstaying her 15-day visa.

The ordeal concluded in mid-September when the girl, finally desperate for aid, sought refuge at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau. She recounted her three-month-long experience to officials, detailing the exploitation she suffered. She is now under the protection of Japanese authorities.

The local police are aggressively pursuing the case, operating under the strong suspicion that the mother deliberately trafficked her own daughter for sexual exploitation. Investigators are working to uncover whether a specific criminal organization or network was involved in orchestrating the trafficking scheme, both in Thailand and Japan. The investigation aims to bring all individuals responsible for this heinous act of child abuse and trafficking to justice.