Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Masatoshi Kurata was embroiled in a scandal Friday over his alleged role in arranging visas for Filipino women to enter Japan and perform at "charity concerts," but who in fact ended up working as bar hostesses.
If the alleged scheme is confirmed, it will likely prompt further international criticism of Japan for its lack of efforts to eradicate trafficking of Asian women in the sex and adult entertainment industries.
Kurata flatly denied the allegation, first reported Friday morning by the Asahi Shimbun, that he had asked for favors from the Justice and Foreign ministries to provide short-term visas for an unspecified number of Filipino women so they could perform at "charity concerts" on behalf of the residents of Leyte Island in the Philippines, which was hit by massive landslides in 2006.