Six Myanmar farm workers speak to reporters in Sapporo on Aug. 21. (Yuto Ota)
                                            
                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                        
                                            
                                                

                                            
                                        
                                    
                                                                                    
                                    
            
            


    
                                SAPPORO—Six Myanmar nationals gave a tearful account here of the daily physical abuse they endured on a farm in Kyogoku, Hokkaido.
The men and women between ages 19 and 30 are under the protective custody of a local labor union that filed a request with the agricultural company to immediately cease physical attacks and abuse of foreign workers and to distribute all unpaid wages.
The labor union also said the information had been turned over to the Immigration Services Agency.
The company did not respond to questions from The Asahi Shimbun.
The six individuals from Myanmar arrived in Japan between May and July on the specified skilled worker visa.
They said company officials beat their heads with a pole or bare hands several times and they also suffered verbal abuse.
One claimed they sustained an injury as a result. A criminal complaint regarding assault will be submitted on Aug. 24.

  
        A Myanmar man describes the daily physical abuse he endured at a Hokkaido farm. (Yuto Ota)

  

At the news conference held on Aug. 21, one man said, “My days were filled with hope prior to my departure from Myanmar.”
He added, “My family tried to stop me from coming, but I convinced them Japan was a very good nation and that there were kind people at the company.”
But what awaited the workers was relentless abuse.
If they did not understand instructions, they were beaten with what looked like a metal pole on their thighs.
One man said, “Every morning when I awoke I thought, ‘How will I be beaten today?’ and, ‘How will I be scolded?’ I was afraid.”
He had to pause his explanation after choking up. The other five looked down and also began to cry.
“I become afraid when I think that even if I go to another workplace, I might encounter the same thing,” the man said.
When asked what they wanted to say to society, one said, “We came to Japan to work so I want to be treated properly and taught properly.”
They said there were about another 20 or so other people from Myanmar working at the farm.
    



                                                                                                                    
            
                    
            
                                                                                                                    



    
    
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    Trainee from Vietnam reaches settlement over physical abuse
                    May 7, 2022
                                    
            
        
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    Supervising body faces 5-year ban over abuse of intern trainee
                    June 1, 2022
                                        

                                    
            
        
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    Firm banned from foreign trainees after violence alleged
                    February 18, 2022
                                    
            
        
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    China crackdown on cyberscams in Southeast Asia nets thousands but leaves networks intact
                    October 23, 2023
                                    
            
        
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    U.S. charges Cambodian executive in massive crypto scam and seizes more than $14 billion in bitcoin
                    October 15, 2025
                                    
            
        
                        
            
                                
                    

                
                                
                    Malaysian dad pleads help for scam victims after son died
                    September 22, 2022