Real field reports and columns on Japan's adult-entertainment world
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The amended Provider Liability Limitation Act took effect in November, speeding up platform responses when victims of sexual images and videos request their removal. Whereas removal previously sometimes took weeks or months, the new law requires a response within 72 hours.
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In response to a surge in sex-industry-related crime in the area centered on 'Toyoko' (next to the Toyoko Inn) in Shinjuku's Kabukicho, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police established a special enforcement unit and launched an intensive investigation. The effort seeks to balance the protection of victims, including minors, with the crackdown on illegal operators.
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The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office announced on the 13th that it had indicted five senior members of a group that had been organizing prostitution in Tokyo and Kanagawa for about two years, charging them with violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (organized/managed prostitution). The number of women victimized is believed to exceed 60, drawing attention as a large-scale organized prostitution case.
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The Tokyo District Court handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a defendant charged with violating the Act on Punishment of Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and other offenses for sexually exploiting multiple minors. The presiding judge ruled that the conduct was 'premeditated and malicious, and gravely damaged the victims' dignity.
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Aichi Prefectural Police announced on the 19th that it had conducted a coordinated search of 18 illegal delivery-health (deriheru) businesses, mainly in Nagoya, arresting and referring 14 operators and others. Investigators also confirmed unregistered operation, employment of minors, and late-night operating violations.
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On the 14th, the Metropolitan Police Department announced that it had searched two premises related to the illegal scouting group 'Natural' on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act. The group operates mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area and is said to have referred numerous women to sex-industry venues. The investigation will continue toward future prosecution.
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As the government considers abolishing and reviewing the technical intern training program, a new case of sexual exploitation of interns has come to light. The victims are female interns from Southeast Asia, and the host institution is said to have forced them to switch to providing sexual services.
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According to a fact-finding survey released by the National Police Agency, prostitution procurement using Twitter rose 80% year-on-year, revealing that the procurement of sexual services via social media is expanding rapidly. Strengthening regulatory obligations on platform operators has emerged as a challenge.
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On the 14th, the Metropolitan Police Department announced the arrest of the leader of a human-trafficking ring connecting Japan and the Philippines. The reality of the ring came to light through an internationally coordinated investigation with Philippine authorities. The victimized Filipino women had been forced into the sex industry after entering Japan.
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On the 15th, a joint investigation team led by Fukuoka Prefectural Police cracked down on a prostitution ring that had been operating across three prefectures in Kyushu, arresting 11 executives and others. The ring is said to have based itself in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Nagasaki and to have managed more than 50 women.