Reports of Taiwanese being lured to Japan with false promises of employment are rising, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, warning people to be wary of illicit schemes.
Taiwan’s representative offices in Japan this year have received a significantly greater number of reports about Taiwanese being arrested for alleged involvement in scam activities in Japan compared with previous years, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Deputy Secretary-General Lin Yu-hui (林郁慧) said.
There were four reports in 2023 and five last year, but there have been 50 so far this year, Lin said.
Photo: CNA
Most Taiwanese are aware of the risk of fraud rings in Southeast Asian countries, but do not realize that similar operations exist in Japan, she said.
“Some Taiwanese have been tricked into yami baito,” she said, referring to a Japanese-language term meaning “dark part-time jobs.”
Posts on social media promised free travel in Japan in exchange for easy part-time jobs, she said.
The Web site of Japan’s Metropolitan Police Department defines yami baito as “shady part-time jobs” that are “easy and well-paying.”
Criminal groups post advertisements for such positions using tempting wording to fool jobseekers into applying, it says, adding that some are forced into criminal activities, such as collecting and withdrawing money obtained via fraud.
Taiwanese should carefully examine job advertisements and only seek work in Japan through official channels, such as applying for a working holiday visa, Lin said.
Japanese police have warned that people recruited are forced to provide personal information and are rarely paid.
It is hard to gauge how widespread the problem is due to a lack of official figures.
However, Japan’s National Police Agency has said it arrested 2,373 people in 2023 for engaging in the practice.
It did not break down how many of them were foreign nationals.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS