Evidence seized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department from a massage parlor in Tokyo included what appeared to be instructions written in Thai and English study notebooks featuring anime characters.

Police arrested two suspects, including the shop's operator, on suspicion of illegally employing a 12-year-old Thai girl at the parlor. The girl is believed to have been brought to Japan for sexual exploitation.

According to police, the girl arrived in Japan in June 2025. Her mother, who came with her, handed the girl over to the massage parlor in Tokyo and then returned to Thailand alone. The girl reportedly stayed in a room borrowed by the parlor and was forced to provide sexual services.

She said that she thought she had no choice but to endure the situation, as she thought her family would not be able to live if she did not work. She said that she wanted to go back to Thailand but could not tell her mother, according to investigators. 

Proceeds from the girl’s work, minus the shop's share, were transferred to an account under the name of someone related to her mother. In September 2025, the girl visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau and was placed under protection.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has obtained an arrest warrant for the girl’s mother on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Act. Investigators revealed that the mother handed the girl over to the shop owner despite knowing there was a risk the girl would be forced into sexual acts.

The mother is currently held in a Taiwanese immigration detention facility on suspicion of illegal stay. 

According to Thai media, she has traveled to Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other countries 27 times. It is also believed she rarely spent time with her daughter, leaving her care to relatives. The mother is suspected of forcing the girl to work to repay debts.

Officials suspect that there are organization brokers behind the human trafficking incident. According to an expert, human trafficking is rampant within Japan as well.

＊Yoshida Yoko, Attorney and Co-Chair of Japan Network Against Human Trafficking

 / Most of the victims used to be foreign nationals before, but now the overwhelming majority are Japanese nationals. The main reasons are that they have nowhere to go or are in economic dire straits.

The number of human trafficking victims has been increasing in recent years.  66 people were taken into protective custody last year. 58 of them were Japanese.

＊Yoshida Yoko, Attorney and Co-Chair of Japan Network Against Human Trafficking

 / I want people to understand that this happens everywhere. You hear about them in those stories related to Kabukicho or host clubs.

It is said that human trafficking for sexual exploitation is becoming increasingly hidden in familiar places within Japan, such as Tokyo's Kabukicho district, where minors who have nowhere else to go gather at the so-called “Toyoko” area.

The National Police Agency urges the public to report any suspected victims to their nearest police station.