Real field reports and columns on Japan's adult-entertainment world
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Prostitution via matching apps and social media has surged, and the National Police Agency announced it has begun a legal review aimed at tightening regulation of related operators. Addressing emerging platforms not fully covered by the existing 'Dating-Site Regulation Act' has become a key issue.
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Amid a continuing state of emergency, the operator of an unlicensed sex business that kept running was arrested for violating the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act. He claims he 'did not know about the closure request,' but police view the long-running operation as a serious matter and consider the conduct egregious.
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On the 10th, the Metropolitan Police Department and Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested six people, including ring leaders of a Chinese-affiliated prostitution organization, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (provision of premises) and other offenses. The group operated out of apartments in Tokyo and Yokohama, using more than a dozen Chinese women to provide prostitution services, and is said to have recruited customers via the internet and Chinese-language social media.
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The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau and the Metropolitan Police Department on the 18th arrested a man who operates a sex-industry establishment on suspicion of violating the Corporation Tax Act (tax evasion). The man allegedly failed to report about 100 million yen in revenue over the three years from 2017 to 2019, with the evaded tax said to total roughly 30 million yen. The case is drawing attention as part of stepped-up tax investigations of the sex industry.
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With the second declaration of a state of emergency, a cluster that emerged at a sex-industry establishment in Tokyo drew attention. Several infected people were found to be connected to the same establishment, renewing questions about thorough infection-control measures across the industry.
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To coincide with the year-end high-alert period, authorities carried out a coordinated crackdown on sex-industry-related businesses across the seven prefectures of the greater Kanto region. In the coordinated raids conducted in late December, 16 illegal operations were confirmed, and 21 operators and others were arrested or referred to prosecutors. Despite the pandemic, illegal businesses appear to have ramped up activity in anticipation of year-end demand.
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Authorities announced on the 16th the arrest of eight brokers and others on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control Act and the Anti-Prostitution Act for forging residency status to put foreign women to work in the sex industry. Many of the victims were Asian women who, soon after arriving in Japan, had their passports taken and were left unable to escape.
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The Tokyo District Court on the 7th sentenced a defendant charged with trafficking multiple women to force them into the sex industry to five years in prison. The presiding judge condemned the case as 'an organized and malicious crime that gravely violated the dignity of the victims,' handing down a harsh sentence close to the six years sought by prosecutors.
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The Metropolitan Police Department announced on the 11th that it had carried out a crackdown on a wide-area prostitution ring based in Tokyo and operating nationwide, arresting 10 people, including ringleaders, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (managed prostitution) and other offenses. The group had been active for more than three years, with an estimated 100-plus female victims.
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Authorities announced on the 19th that they had broken up a group using social-media platforms such as Twitter to draw women into prostitution, arresting two ringleaders — a man and a woman — on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (procuring). The victims included teenage girls, and police had stepped up their investigation given the impact on minors.