Japanese dream' turns sour for foreign trainees

TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) They dream of bringing home a nest egg and advanced technical skills, but many of the tens of thousands of foreigners who head to Japan on trainee visas each year end up in what union officials say is tantamount to slavery.

A system launched in 1990 to help developing countries to benefit from Japanese technology has become a source of cheap labour for small manufacturers and farms that are struggling in the face of a labour shortage and harsh competition from abroad.

''It's basically human trafficking,'' said Ippei Torii, secretary general of the All United Workers Union, which has successfully negotiated the payment of back-wages for scores of former trainees.

More than 83,000 people, mostly Chinese, arrived in Japan as trainees last year, adding to tens of thousands already here, according to the Japan International Training Cooperation Organisation, (JITCO) which supervises the programme.

Many are trapped into working long hours for pitiful pay and are subjected to sexual harassment, union officials say.

Returning home before their contract expires is often out of the question, because trainees have mortgaged their homes to fund the trip, while their employers or brokers impound their passports to prevent escape.

''I thought the work and the pay in Japan would be the best,'' a 31-year-old Chinese former trainee said, ''The reality was totally different,'' he said through an interpreter, declining to give his name for fear of embarrassing relatives.

A farmer from an area close to Beijing, he persuaded friends and family to contribute the 24,000 yuan (3,100 dollar) deposit he needed to pay a Chinese broker to enter the programme in 2004.

He hoped to train in new farming techniques and thought he could also save some money.

Despite the rigours of working on a vegetable farm from 0600 hrs to 2100hrs (local time) with only short breaks and no holidays -- all for a basic wage of 50,000 yen (410 dollars) to 60,000 yen per month -- the softly spoken young man stuck it out for more than two years before escaping after dark to a friend's house last year.

PLUCKING UP COURAGE With the union's help, the farmer is now negotiating the return of his passport and belongings, along with enough money to cover the shortfall between his pay and the legal minimum wage.

Until then he must eke out a living on savings and help from friends, because his visa bars him from work other than at the farm where he was posted.

''It takes courage to run away. You could meet someone even worse and then who knows what might happen?'' said another Chinese former trainee, who also fled a job that involved carrying heavy objects all day, leaving her covered in bruises.

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