NEWS

(日本語)

NFSJのイベント告知、活動報告や、関連ニュースの報道をシェアしています。

(7/30) NFSJ World Day Against Trafficking In Persons Campaign 2020 has launched!

Every year, NFSJ has conducted online awareness-raising campaign around July 30, the World Day Against Trafficking In Persons.

This year, NFSJ staff members introduce books and films to learn about the issue every other day for a month. The campaign was launched on July 30. Join our campaign to raise awareness by liking and sharing the posts!

Facebook　https://www.facebook.com/notforsalejapan/

Twitter　(@notforsalejapan) 　https://mobile.twitter.com/notforsalejapan

Instagram　（@notforsalejapan)　https://www.instagram.com/notforsalejapan/

If you miss it, don’t worry! We will stock the archive in this website. http://notforsalejapan.org/books-and-films

(“What We Can Do”
⇒”Books and Films to Learn about Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery”）

(8/6)NFSJ Café #21 “Detention Center Visitation: Reality of Immigrants in Japan”

NFSJ Café #21 “Detention Center Visitation: Reality of Immigrants in Japan”

The number of foreign immigrants in Japan is increasing to the extent that it can now be called an “immigrant society.” Many of them support the Japanese economy as a labor force.

Some of them are refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries. However, only a small percentage (less than 1%) of those who apply for refugee status are recognized as such. Not only refugee applicants, but also people who have no visa and are unable to return to their home countries for various reasons, are detained in the immigration detention centers.

At this NFSJ Cafe, we will hear from Alex Easley, who has spent many years listening to the voices of, and supporting the detainees at the Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki, and the Immigration Bureau detention center in Shinagawa, Tokyo.

Migrant workers and refugees are vulnerable to human rights violations and are closely linked to human trafficking. Let’s talk about the issues that are happening right now here in Japan.

《Date&Time》Thursday, August 6, 2020   19:00～21:00

《Place》Online (Zoom)

《Admission》 Free（max.30）　＊Please make reservation.

《Language》 Mainly English　(Japanese can also be used in Q&A)

《Guest Speaker》Mr. Alex Easley
Leader of Detention Center Ministry, Tokyo Baptist Church.
Musician.

《Reservation》
Use the link below to fill in the reservation form.
We will send the Zoom link to your email address 2 hrs prior to the event.
https://forms.gle/dqZLVejrjPMPBzSw5

Sponsored by Not For Sale Japan, which works on issues of human trafficking and modern slavery, NFSJ Café is a casual learning experience where interested participants and NFSJ staff talk about a theme or watch a film over a cup of tea. Please feel free to join us.

Contact: japan@notforsalecampaign.org

Sponsored by Not For Sale Japan (NFSJ)

Flyer download ⇒20200806 NFSJ Cafe No.21 Flyer (E)

 

Event Report: NFSJ Cafe #20 “Human Trafficking in Japan?”

As announced, we have held the 20th NFSJ Cafe online on June 11. It was our first public online event and it went well with 32 participants from Hokkaido to Osaka. Mariko Yamaoka, Director of NFSJ, gave lecture on the modern slavery structure, what is happening in Japan, and what we can do to end it. We had short but insightful group discussions twice in 6 groups. Some participants were concerned about foreign technical interns and foreign students living in their neighborhood. Some were concerned about the billboard ads visible in town to allure young girls into sex industry. We hope that we can meet the participants in person someday.

(6/11) NFSJ Cafe #20 (Online) “Human Trafficking in Japan?”

We decided to have an online NFSJ Cafe “Human Trafficking in Japan?” in the evening (19:00-21:00) of Thursday, June 11, using Zoom conference system.

The “cafe” will first offer a basic online presentation by Mariko Yamaoka, Director of NFSJ, on the trafficking issues in Japan, followed by Q&A, discussion, and networking time.

This event will be conducted in Japanese. (If there is any request for another such event in English, please let us know.) Reservation is required: https://forms.gle/DakMdAzHJL5hKcwy5

 

(Report) 2/16 NFSJ Awareness Table at Fair Trade Forum Musashino 2020

On February 16, NFSJ participated in the Fair Trade Forum Musashino 2020 at the Seikei University in Kichijoji, Tokyo, and also participated in the Fair Trade Marketplace held at the same place.

As we have reported in the NFSJ newsletter, Musashino City is now actively working towards Fair Trade Town Certification, which is a joint effort by the city government, businesses, shops, and civic groups to expand movement of fair trade. The “Fair Trade  Forum Musashino 2020” was also the launch of the Fair Trade Town Musashino Promotion Council.

In the forum, Ms. Satomi Harada, one of the members of the Fair Trade Town movement who led Nagoya City to the certification and has been leading the activities since then, gave a keynote speech. Then, university students with ties to Musashino City presented their action plans of town planning, and a panel discussion on “Sustainable communities with bees” was held. The organizer initially expected about 100 people to attend, but the hall was almost full with 180 participants.

You may wonder “What does human trafficking have to do with fair trade?”  One of the activities of NFSJ’s mission is to provide information to the general public to help them take small actions to eradicate human trafficking. The most frequently asked question at lectures and workshops is, “So what can we do to solve this problem?” Fair trade incorporates not only purchasing goods and raw materials from producers at a fair price, but also a variety of support to ensure that these people are guaranteed a livelihood and continue their economic activities. Buying fair trade products is a small step, but it can be a big movement if we do it together. That’s why we are inviting you to buy fair trade products and promote ethical consumption as one of the strategies to get involved in solving the problem of human trafficking.

On that day, NFSJ handed out materials such as “Why NFSJ Recommends Fair Trade” flyers* with action cards asking stores to stock fair trade products, and the “Guidebook for Exploring Ethical Products*” to help people find ethical products by noticing various certification marks. The action cards in particular drew the interest of other fair trade shops; there was a lady who said, “We’ll hand them out at our booth too!” According to Ms. Harada, who gave the keynote speech, “People flock to things that are delicious, fun, glamorous and sparkling. This aspect is important for the spillover and sustainment of the social contribution activities.” Though human trafficking is a serious issue, it is important for NFSJ to experience and expand communication in such a sparkling event.

(*Although available only in Japanese, you may order copies of the Fair Trade Flyer and the Ethical Products Guidebook (leaflet). Please contact: japan@notforsalecampaign.org.)

 

(Report) NFSJ Seminar : Ethical Consumption to protect Human Rights, Environment, Peace and Animal Rights

The NFSJ seminar “How to practice ‘ethical consumption’ to protect human rights, environment, peace and animal rights” was held on February 15 as part of Yokohama International Forum 2020. The speakers were Mariko Arikawa, a sustainable PR planner and ethical consumption coordinator, and Mariko Yamaoka, the director of Not For Sale Japan. The forum was held when people just started to worry about the spread of COVID-19, so the number of participants was as half as the past years. Our seminar was attended by 20 people including staff and speakers in the room that seats 36 people.

Ms. Arikawa is well-versed in so-called “green purchasing” and ethical consumption. She explained how and what to buy ethically, in particular, to protect environment. She took tea as an example and compared the data of price and carbon dioxide emissions in the two cases: pouring home-brewed tea in a bottle and buying tea in plastic bottles.

When hearing of ethical consumption or fair trade, a lot of people would feel pressured, thinking they would have to change their whole life-style. But Ms. Arikawa says quite differently: “You can just add one ethical factor to other factors of your purchasing decision like preference and price. In Japan, 49 % of the whole “consumption” amount is categorized “home purchases”, so it is more likely to create bigger change by changing the action of each of the consumers.

Yamaoka of NFSJ talked about ethical consumption in terms of human rights. Behind the products and services we buy are exploitative structures: for example, foreign technical intern trainees and students come to Japan after paying deposit and other cost by borrowing money and find themselves deeply stranded in the slave-like labor condition. But as a consumer, it is hard to discern if this kind of structure exists behind the certain product we buy. “Ethical Report Card of Companies” is one of the possible ways to choose ethical companies, along with buying fair trade products.

In the discussion time, all participants were divided into groups with 4-5 members and shared their own experience of sustainable purchasing and talked about ideas to promote ethical consumption. And in the sharing time, variety of ideas were presented, such as buying directly from the producers, creating system of domestic fair trade, telling stories behind the products, promoting products by creating podcast programs, etc. We were all glad by the outcome of the event where participants exchanged their views and ideas lively and in a very friendly atmosphere.

2/15 Ethical Consumption to protect Human Rights, Environment, Peace and Animal Rights (Yokohama International Forum)

This is an event to be held on Feb. 15, 15:20-17:10 at Icho (4th floor) of JICA Yokohama, as a seminar in the Yokohama International Forum.

NFSJ will sponsor a seminar to inform the participants of the Ethical Report Card of Companies and Guricho, Green and Ethical Choices, projects of SSRC, or Citizens’ Network to Build a Sustainable Society through Responsible Consumption.

We also invite Ms. Mariko Arikawa, a Sustainable PR Planner and Ethical Consumption Coordinator as a guest speaker. This seminar will be held in Japanese.

(This seminar is for free, but one need to pay for the admission for the Yokohama International Forum which is 500 yen with reservation and 700 yen on-site. )