Thai woman, 30, gets 7.5 years in jail for forcing daughter, 12, into sex work in Japan

A Thai woman has been jailed seven and a half years for trafficking her daughter and forcing her into sex work in Japan.

The court in Bangkok reportedly said the term was halved because the 30-year-old woman pleaded guilty, according to NHK.

The woman, only identified as Laksana, brought her then 12-year-old daughter to Tokyo to work at a massage parlour in June 2025, reported Kyodo News.

Wanted to take care of youngest son

Laksana reportedly told Kyodo News following the verdict that she took her daughter to Japan because she only wanted her to help take care of her youngest baby boy while she was working at the massage parlour.

Police believe the girl provided sexual services to about 60 customers over a month between June and July in 2025.

The girl has been receiving care at a government-run facility since going back to Thailand in December.

What happened

It was previously reported that before the incident, the woman worked abroad providing sexual services while the girl lived with her grandparents.

On Jun. 27, 2025, both mother and daughter travelled to Japan from Thailand on a 15-day tourist visa.

It was the girl's first time in Japan.

The woman then allegedly handed her daughter over to the owner of a massage parlour in Tokyo.

She told the girl to stay there and work and instructed her to perform sexual massages.

The incident came to light in September 2025, when the girl went alone to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward to seek help.

She was then taken into protective custody as a trafficking victim.

The woman was arrested in Taoyuan during a prostitution raid and was believed to be linked to an international prostitution ring.