VIETNAMESE Trainees Advised to Use Contraceptives
On January 21, Kyodo News learned from a survey conducted through a support group that nine Vietnamese women who came to Japan as technical intern trainees were advised to use contraception by the sending organization, which serves as an intermediary for recruitment in their home country, and that five of them used contraceptive rings or took other measures.
In many cases, the sending organizations advised the recipients that they must return to their home countries if they became pregnant, and some of them agreed to the procedures because they thought they would not be able to go to Japan if they did not follow the recommendations.
Even the presiding judge sympathized with the Japanese government, which was cold toward pregnant Vietnamese technical intern trainees, who were saddled with debts and refused to undergo medical treatment, and whose companies and supervisory organizations “were unaware.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Law prohibits unfair treatment on the grounds of pregnancy and childbirth, and foreign workers are also entitled to lump-sum maternity and childcare benefits and leave before and after childbirth, as well as childcare leave. However, the fact that “reproductive rights,” which allow trainees to decide for themselves whether or not to bear and raise children, are being disregarded was brought to light.
The Immigration and Immigration Control Agency stated, “It is a problem if contraceptive measures are taken without the consent of the trainee. Regardless of nationality, there should be no unfair treatment on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth.
YAHOO NEWS
January 21, 2024
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2f67da46f6e24d135d866a62ac7ef413b9148635
