TOKYO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of reported human trafficking cases in Japan declined in 2018 amid intensified efforts by law enforcement agencies to crack down on businesses and syndicates involved in the exploitative activities.
According to the National Police Agency (NPA), the number of reported cases of human trafficking dropped by 10 to 36 cases in the reporting year, and legal action was taken by police in cases involving 40 people involved in human trafficking.
Japan legally defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion for the purpose of exploitation."
The official data also showed the number of victims, spanning those forced into prostitution, coerced into working in the adult entertainment industry and made to perform in pornographic videos under duress, dropped to 25 victims in 2018 from a year earlier.
The data also showed that the majority of the victims of human trafficking in 2018 were from Japan, with 18 Japanese citizens identified, along with four and three nationals from the Philippines and Thailand respectively.
The victims, according to the NPA, comprised mostly young women, with the youngest of them being identified as a 9-year-old girl.
Among other arrests made, an executive at a company was apprehended for allegedly duping a 19-year-old girl who wanted to work as a fashion model into performing in pornographic videos for a salacious production company.
The NPA said an increasing number of victims and would-be victims were being targeted through social networking sites and warned potential victims to be cautious.
