Photo/Illutration Tran Thi Hien has worked as a Vietnamese interpreter for about 20 years in Osaka Prefecture. (Itsuki Soeda)

TOYONAKA, Osaka Prefecture—Tran Thi Hien’s skills are in heavy demand these days, much to her chagrin.

She is a Vietnamese interpreter who is now increasingly helping young compatriots suspected of committing crimes in Japan.

Around 450,000 Vietnamese are working nationwide mainly under the technical trainee program.

The intern program is supposed to provide trainees with skills that they can use after they return to their home countries.

However, complaints are rife that employers are forcing the interns to do menial or dangerous tasks under terrible working conditions.

Some employers have also been accused of withholding wages from the interns or abusing them.

Tran, 48, said the number of interpretation requests is constantly increasing.

In one case, a Vietnamese trainee fled a workplace because of bullying and, in need of money, became involved in a fraud case.

“Flaws in the government’s framework (for the intern program) may be part of the reason they end up resorting to criminal acts,” Tran said.

She said the program should be abolished because rampant misuse has deviated it from its initial purpose.

Tran lived in her hometown in Vietnam’s Thai Binh province until she graduated from high school.

“I wanted to leave the countryside to learn what the world is like,” she recalled.

Tran joined a new local subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. and married a Japanese man. She relocated to Osaka Prefecture in 1999.

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Tran Thi Hien in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture (Itsuki Soeda)

About 20 years ago, Tran, through an acquaintance, was asked by the Justice Ministry to translate past court rulings.

She has since served as an interpreter for tourists, politicians and other clients.

Tran has also immersed herself in helping Vietnamese in court trials and police investigations.

Now, she is sometimes involved in three separate court trials on a single day. Late one night, she was rushed to a police station in a patrol car for interpretation work after the last train run.

Japan and Vietnam established diplomatic relations in 1973, the year Tran was born.

The countries will mark the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties next year.

To improve the relations, Tran says people from both the countries must share their honest feelings with each other.

“I want to contribute to the mental bonds between people as well as economic and diplomatic affairs,” she said.

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