EMBASSY TOKYO-RECEIVED PROPOSALS FOR G/TIP FUNDING

UNCLAS TOKYO 001758 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM ELAB PREL KCRM SMIG JA SUBJECT: EMBASSY TOKYO-RECEIVED PROPOSALS FOR G/TIP FUNDING REF: STATE 028143 ¶1. Following are the summaries of two anti-TIP proposals solicited per reftel. The full proposals have been emailed to G/TIP Programs Coordinator Rebecca Billings via unclassified email. SIPDIS ¶2. Organization Name: Polaris Project (Shihoko Fujiwara) -Requested amount: USD 193,663 -Non-federal funding: USD 198,335 (From Polaris Project) -Total budget: USD 391,998 -Project Title: Japan Trafficking Intervention Program (JTIP) -Project Duration: 1 year -Proposal Abstract: "Japan has one of the most pressing human trafficking problems in the world today that warrants urgent international alarm. The impending crisis of human trafficking in Japan is the result of numerous contributing factors including Japan's massive commercial sex industry of staggering proportions and close ties with international organized crime; Japan's powerful industrialized economy that attracts scores of vulnerable migrants from all over the world; entrenched cultural practices and unchecked demand for commercial sex; and a notably underdeveloped response to combat human trafficking in the areas of prevention, protection, and prosecution despite the widespread false assumption that the sophistication of Japan's economy must naturally correlate with a well-developed civil sector and counter-trafficking response. With essential support from the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Polaris Project's Japan office has been working on-the-ground in Japan for the past three years since Fall 2004 and has the unique perspective of experiencing the harsh reality of Japan's skeletal and underwhelming response to human trafficking. As one of the only non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Japan exclusively dedicated to combating trafficking, our Japan office reports that much more international support is needed to continue to lay the foundation for a nascent counter-trafficking response in Japan. The need for such support comes at a crucial time when Japan's initial minor attempts to fight human trafficking have led to extremely low victim identification rates, a lack of availability of social services for victims, non-existent public-private partnerships to fight trafficking, low levels of law enforcement training to operate in a victim-centered manner, low public awareness levels, and few prosecutions in the face of an ever-increasing pool of both domestic and transnational victims that presents traffickers with an alluring combination of high profits with very low risk of law enforcement intervention or deterrence. Polaris Project is currently requesting funding to develop the Japan Trafficking Intervention Program (JTIP),a comprehensive victim outreach and services program to combat trafficking in persons in the Tokyo Metropolitan region. The JTIP program directly builds off Polaris Project's previous U.S. State Department-funded program, entitled the Japan Campaign Against Trafficking (JCAT). JTIP will represent one of the only NGO anti-trafficking initiatives in Japan that is proactively working to identify victims through direct outreach activities. JTIP's population served will span victims of all forms of trafficking in persons, including victims of both sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and victims who are either foreign nationals or Japanese citizens. JTIP's comprehensive approach will include prevention initiatives aimed towards at-risk youth, direct and community outreach efforts to identify victims, public awareness-raising activities, crisis intervention through anti-trafficking hotlines, victim services and shelter for victims identified, community mobilization, and collaboration with law enforcement and government agencies. Expected results include an increase in outlets for victim's to seek help, increases in victims identified and served, and a growing counter-trafficking response in Japan that includes stronger partnerships with government and community members." ¶3. Organization Name: The Asia Foundation (Keiko Tamai) -Requested amount: USD 246,491 -Non-federal funding: N/A -Total budget: USD 246,491 -Project Title: Strengthening Victim Protection and Increasing Prosecutions in Japan" -Project Duration: 1.5 years -Proposal Abstract: "The Asia Foundation proposes to implement an 18-month $246,491 anti-trafficking program to improve victim protection and strengthen prosecutions of traffickers in Japan. Japan remains a major human trafficking destination, particularly for women drawn into commercial sexual exploitation. While the Japanese Government has improved its efforts to combat trafficking in recent years, serious gaps remain with regard to victim protection and prosecution. The proposed program will improve the quality of victim care provided in government-run shelters, promote cooperation and coordination between government and nongovernmental service providers, and increase the availability of pro bono legal counsel to trafficking victims. A comprehensive set of six activities will train government shelter workers in higher standards of victim care and provide exposure to international best practices; provide materials to facilitate communication with foreign victims; create tools to enhance services available at shelters by expanding government and nongovernmental cooperation; and develop materials and train pro bono lawyer networks to provide quality legal services to trafficking victims. Expected program results include: improved care for trafficking victims in government shelters; improved coordination of victim referrals, both within government and with civil society organizations; stronger prosecutions, as more victims are willing to testify against their traffickers; and greater access to justice for trafficking victims." SCHIEFFER