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Tokyo cops: Head of temp staffing agency hired illegal foreign workers

The president of a temp staffing agency was arrested for forcing foreign workers illegally residing in Japan to work (TBS News)
The president of a temp staffing agency was arrested for forcing foreign workers illegally residing in Japan to work (TBS News)

TOKYO (TR) – The president of a temp staffing agency was dispatching Chinese workers illegally residing in Japan to clients, possibly racking up earnings of some 200 million yen over the years, police said on Monday.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Mika Okano, 38, for dispatching three Chinese workers to clients including a meat processing company in Ibaraki Prefecture, TBS News reports (Nov. 21).

Okano has admitted to the charges, quoted as telling the Minami Senju Police Station she “knew that they didn’t have residence permits.”

The Chinese workers, who escaped from a technical training institution, were forced to live in an apartment owned by Okano. She hired them and took 30 percent of their income, police said.

Police are investigating the possibility that Okano earned over 200 million yen in revenue by forcing nearly 300 foreign workers to illegally work over the years.