VIET TRAINEES IN JAPAN NABBED FOR THEFT OF LIVESTOCK, FRUITS

Since October, there have been continued reports of Vietnamese nationals arrested in Japan on suspicion of crimes including overstaying their visas, in connection with a number of large-scale livestock and produce robberies from businesses primarily in the east Japan regions including Gunma and Tochigi prefectures.

A significant number of those arrested in relation to the thefts were young people working as technical intern trainees across the country who were seized on suspicion of contravening the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act by overstaying in Japan. But what were their aims in all of this? The Mainichi Shimbun's investigations into the background of the cases brought up a picture of foreign technical intern trainees placed in harsh working conditions, and lives blighted by the coronavirus crisis.

From the start of this year, the northern Kanto region has been seeing local producers become victims of livestock and crop thefts. In Gunma Prefecture, so far some 720 pigs and about 140 chickens have been confirmed stolen. Farmers in the nearby prefectures of Tochigi, Ibaraki and Saitama have also been hit in a stream of thefts. In connection with the cases, Gunma Prefectural Police on Oct. 26 arrested 13 Vietnamese men and women in their 20s and 30s living in Ota on suspicion of breaking the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act for overstaying, among other accusations. The 13 lived in groups in two rented single-story homes. Of them, 10 were technical trainee interns who had come to Japan in 2016. They had worked in locations including Tokyo, Saitama, Ibaraki and Kumamoto doing jobs in industries such as construction and agriculture. But a majority of them had gone on to disappear from their places of employment.

When police searched the properties, they found about 30 chickens stuffed in plastic bags under the floors. Additionally, prefectural police obtained a delivery slip from a home delivery center in Ota with the names of two of the arrested suspects on it. The group used a social media account whose name in Vietnamese translates roughly to "Big brother Gunma," through which they would find customers and relay goods to them. Meat appears to have been sold at a cost of around 2,000 yen (about $19) for a few kilograms. The account also had pictures of a butchered pig, but when news reports began to emerge this summer of livestock robberies, the majority of the images were deleted.