Japan association allegedly ripped off pay from Vietnamese interns

Disgraceful, considering Japan needs more outside workers than ever before.

It is rare for the labor watchdog to make a referral to prosecutors for a violation of the Labor Standards Law that involves exploiting wages from interns, according to investigative sources.

It is "rare" that a group got caught! The authorities should be checking the books of all these associations. Let's not forget all the Japanese Language schools that "introduce" their students to pt jobs and internships too.

Greedy pigs. Bull on did not know!

I expect nothing LESS from these “Organizations”.

It’s what they DO.

The article implies that the association was ripped off from the Vietnamese nationals. Pay seems omitted from the first paragraph.

100-yen an hour is a hell of a lot when you consider that they're probably only being paid 700yen an hour

Japan, I have a very simple request, ENFORCE your supposed LABOUR LAWS!!!

That is all I ask...

the association has stopped the practice after being told by the labor authorities

No mention at all about restitution... Guess the victims have gone back to Vietnam.

the association had extracted 100 yen per hour from the payment under the name of "administration costs," 

Ah, those administration costs are very lucrative for Japanese businesses. Anybody who has rented an apartment or parking space would be aware of these mystery fees for administration. Every time you renew your contract you have to pay an extra month's rent. It is called an "administration fee" which, in fact, is just a gift-money rip off. The amount of rent you pay every month already includes a percentage for administration fees. This company had to know it was illegal to remove ¥100 per hour from these employees wages and I'm sure they did it thinking that the Vietnamese would not know any better nor would they say anything about it. Japan is full of these mystery "administration fees", which are just a way of ripping people off.

I always love the names of these "organisations"

Japan Asia International Friendship Association

@mizuame might be so or have gone underground working in obentoyas. The govt shld take a look on those who come here on student visas with the main purpose of working. How can one on student visa who isn't that well off and surely who doesn't receive extra allowance from their parents back home can afford living in Japan with just ¥60,000-¥80,000 monthly income? Most if not all of them work 2 jobs. That's why they dozed most of the time. Aside from the fact that they're not paying due taxes and social insurances. In this case the Vietnamese students and other international students for that matter(not sure those on govt sponsored scholarships) are ripping off the govt not the other way around.

The article implies that the association was ripped off from the Vietnamese nationals. Pay seems omitted from the first paragraph.

Better wording would make it easier to understand. It's a Sunday kind of thing I guess!

A Japanese association mediating internship programs for foreign students allegedly ripped off from Vietnamese nationals nearly 3 million yen of their pay for working at accommodation facilities, labor authorities say.

I always love the names of these "organisations"

Japan Asia International Friendship Association

or "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"

 he "was not aware it was illegal."

According to the authorities, the association allegedly siphoned part of the pay that was supposed to go to a dozen Vietnamese female university students who were working at Japanese inns and other lodgings in Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures.

Yet another form of ignorance. Simple common sense will tell you if you're dealing with money and you're taking money from someone without their knowledge and using it for your own betterment, that would fall directly under the category of ILLEGAL. (theft)

AND he tried to cover it up

The accommodation facilities paid the wages into the association's bank account and the association had extracted 100 yen per hour from the payment under the name of "administration costs," according to the Fukui labor office.

This happens across the board here.. Companies underpay or steal wages from foreigners .. Enjoy English in Saitama, told myself and other foreign teachers we would be on ¥300,000per month and working from 09:00 to 16:00 five days a week, ended up working from 08:00 to 19:00 six days a week and when it was time to pay, the owners of Enjoy English claimed computer problems, and said we be paid a month later, a month later and no pay, and those of us that complained were sacked on the spot. Labour Office claimed as we were foreigners we had no rights, so there was nothing they could do. ... So worked for two months unpaid, and moving from Tokyo to Saitama and back again total amount lost over ¥1,000,000 ... And Enjoy English are still doing the same now in 2018 as they were in 2003 .. I do not think they have paid any of their teachers.

Labour Office claimed as we were foreigners we had no rights, so there was nothing they could do.

That's not correct. I've known people who have had to sue their old companies for pay, and even Nova teachers eventually got some money if they stayed in the country.

@Strangerland, when I visited the labour office, I had my wife with me, as she was also employed with Enjoy English, the Japanese teachers were paid, the gaikokujin were not, my wife explained this also to the labour office and she was told the same, as I was not Japanese, they could not assist me in getting my salary. A few years later I had the same problem in Tokyo after helping setting up a new club, I was hired as a security consultant and after the club was set up, I was paid ¥33,000 for a months work, when I signed a contract for ¥330,000 ... The company claimed it was a type-o and the contract was only for ¥33,000 and not ¥330,000 ... We visited a Tokyo Labour office, with the signed contract, as proof that the club stated ¥330,000 and was told, they could not do anything, again I lost money, its why I started my own company and work for myself now.