Public awareness of human-trafficking is low in Japan because of slow government action and a lack of legislation that directly addresses the problem, according a draft report by the International Labor Organization obtained Wednesday.

The report, "Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Japan," was compiled by the ILO Office in Japan. It primarily focuses on the experiences and conditions of human-trafficking victims.

Nearly one-third of the 81-page report is dedicated to case studies based on interviews with victims and diplomatic personnel from the places they were brought from.

The study shows how they are recruited, brought to Japan and forced to work in the sex industry under yakuza control. It also reports on the physical and mental effects the crime has on the victims and how they are treated by governmental and nongovernmental organizations in Japan.

"While there is international consensus that trafficking victims should be treated as such and should receive proper protection and rehabilitation, in practice they still are very often arrested, detained and deported as illegal immigrants," the report says.

"Victims of trafficking may be perceived to be voluntary participants in illegal immigration, which thereby removes their right to protection," the report says.

Under strong international pressure, Japan belatedly started addressing the issue this year. The government is working to draft an inter-agency action plan by year's end, and to introduce tighter immigration controls and punishments for trafficking next year.

The ILO welcomed the government's moves, but suggested Japan could do more.

The group said this includes recognizing and respecting the victims' rights, including their right to protection, care and residency while undertaking legal procedures, and giving financial help to private shelters that aid them.

According to the ILO study, there are only two refuges in Japan that accept foreign women who escape from human-traffickers.

The report is the result of a year of research in Japan and based on published documents and interviews with Japanese government officials, nongovernmental organizations, and the embassies of Columbia, the Philippines and Thailand, which are the victims' main countries of origin, according to the ILO office.

The report will also be published on the ILO's Web site in Japan in mid-December.