With a weakening currency and rising poverty, Japan’s capital Tokyo has become the new hub for “sex tourism”, reported The Star.
Secretary general of the Liaison Council Protecting Youths (Seiboren), Yoshihide Tanaka, told This Week in Asia, “Japan has become a poor country.”
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The organisation has noted a significant increase in the number of foreigners of all races, but especially Chinese men, who have started visiting the city for its sex industry after post-pandemic travel restrictions were eased.
The phenomenon is coupled with a rise in teenagers and women in their early twenties turning to the sex industry to survive, along with an increase in violence as well, Tanaka said.
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Many of these activities take place in parks such as the Okubo park, which has become part of the tourism experience for visitors in the city, according to Kazuna Kanajiri, a representative of Paps, a nonprofit that offers support to victims of sexual violence.
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Lawmakers have also been advocating for regulations on sex work, with Kazunori Yamanoi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the country’s main opposition party, saying, “The reality is that Japan has become a country where foreign men can obtain young women and essentially buy sexual services.”
Yamanoi states that this is not just a domestic issue but damages the perception of Japanese women in the international community.
Police have cracked down on the Okubo park neighbourhood, with 140 women arrested for alleged street prostitution in 2023.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), around 43% of women arrested while working the street in 2023 said they started selling their body to pay for host clubs and underground male idols. About 80% of those arrested were in their 20s, while three were 19 or younger.
There are around 240 to 260 such host clubs in the Kabukicho area of the city alone, according to Yuichi Hojo, the representative of Japan Host Club Association. Average prices per session are around 20,000 yen, with some workers having a quota they need to earn per day to pay back the host clubs.
Sex workers are vulnerable not only to sexually transmitted diseases but also physical violence and extortion. In Japan, buying and selling sex for money is illegal, but the ban is limited to penetration only.
The anti-prostitution law imposes a criminal punishment of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 yen, but only for the seller – the women and not the buyer – the men.
Though the police have vowed to punish violent acts, many feel that they focus on cracking down on street prostitution and not the violence against women, reported The Star.
