In a bid to create safe spaces for its customers, a large discount gym chain in Japan is rapidly expanding the number of facilities that allow only women. Some women, however, aren’t happy about how it’s been implemented. Meanwhile, some men in Japan are rehashing the same old arguments against creating safe spaces for women that they always have.
Self-declared gender leads to social media outcry
The chain in question is one I’ve written about before. chocoZap is a unique kind of all-in-one-gym that offers, not just workouts, but lifestyle services. Users can work out, do their laundry, and even relax and belt out songs in the karaoke room.
chocoZap has 1,800+ locations nationwide, all accessible at a reasonable 3,278 yen (about $22) a month. The problem is that these facilities are unmanned. That presents a potential danger to women in a country where molestation and other sexual crimes aren’t taken seriously and, hence, go under-reported.
To address this, RIZAP copied a pattern from the Japanese train system. Just as some train cars only allow women at certain times of day, RIZAP designated 16 chocoZAP stores nationwide as women-only facilities. On May 14, 2026, it announced it would expand this initial experiment to up to 300 stores. RIZAP also has an undisclosed number of stores with individual rooms that are designated “women-only” in the reservation app.
Not all women are happy with the announcement, however. Some immediately laid into the company for the pink signage designating women-only stores. “I thought it was a nightlife spot,” one woman groaned on social media.
Then, earlier this month, a female user announced on social media site X that they were cancelling the membership after they went in for their appointment in a women-only room…and saw a man walking out. Other female members quickly chimed in with similar sightings.
After the post made headlines, RIZAP admitted that their system operated, not on guarantees, but goodwill. While rooms are labeled “women-only,” anyone can reserve regardless of gender. The company apologized for causing “anxiety” and said it was developing a fix to restrict reservations to female members. It was also considering a change to use member ID systems to verify gender at check-in time.
That time chocoZap tried banning male hair removal
This isn’t the first time chocoZap gyms have found themselves in a gender controversy.
Previously, in 2023, the chain had briefly banned men from using hair removal (depilation) machines at its facilities. The logic was similar to the reason for banning men from using purikura photo booths at game centers: the machines are primarily used by women, and allowing men to use them exposes women to danger from men who use that to force themselves upon women.
The angry backlash from men was so great, however, that the chain had to reverse the policy. Men argued that they were getting less for their gym membership money from women and that this was fundamentally unfair.
This wasn’t the first time a company had introduced a gendered service. Women-only parking spaces have existed since the 1980s, mainly in department stores. Originally built for women who were “not confident in their driving,” they still exist today as a safety measure.
Similarly, women-only train cars have been in use since the early 2000s, when they were introduced as an anti-groping measure. Such cars are still in use in major cities across Japan, with train companies in the Kantō region of greater Tokyo employing them mostly during rush hour for the busiest lines.
Like the chocoZap spaces, use of these cars isn’t a hard legal boundary. Most men stay away from such cars due to a combination of social pressure and common sense. And, like the chocoZap spaces, some men argue vociferously against these cars even existing. There’s even an “organization,” the Association Opposing Women-Only Cars (女性専用車両に反対する会), whose members forcibly board women’s cars in protest to show the rule isn’t legally enforceable.
Enforcing rules without staff
Despite these objections, some Japanese women say the May incident proves why safe women’s spaces are needed. The problem is figuring out how to enforce them.
While women’s only train cars may not be legally enforceable, it’s easier to socially shame a man who violates that boundary. The car is full of other women, and a man who enters will stand out. The same isn’t true with chocoZap’s staffless gyms, where a male and a female customer may be the only people at the store.
The debate highlights the inherent tension in staffless stores in Japan. Staffless stores have taken off as a business model in recent years as companies struggle with chronic labor shortages. While an effective cost-cutting measure, the new model has left companies contending with how to manage losses from theft.
It’s unclear how far RIZAP will go in enforcing gender restrictions on stores and rooms. If the store requires that members verify their legally recognized gender, that could ignite a separate debate around transgender women in a country where support for transgender rights has taken a hard dive.
No matter which way the company goes, one thing’s for certain: the debate over gendered facilities in Japan won’t be resolved anytime soon.
Keep reading
Sources
チョコザップ「女性専用ルームから男性が…」無人ジム“会員の良識頼り”限界か 運営会社「真摯に反省し、対策を迅速に強化」 弁護士JPニュース
チョコザップに「女性専用」16店舗→最大300店舗展開へ 運営会社「非常に好調な利用状況」、その背景は J-CASTニュース
チョコザップ「女性専用」拡大に歓喜も 全面ピンクの看板に「夜の店かと」「なぜダサいピンクなの」と不満の声 週刊女性PRIME（Yahoo!ニュース）
女性専用のチョコザップが最大300店舗展開へ「非常に好調な利用状況」 ライブドアニュース
chocoZAP「第2章」始動【黒字化達成＆収益前年同期比15倍】～女性専用・ちょこガチ・サードプレイスなど、3つの新施策を先行検証開始～（RIZAP株式会社, 2026-03-24） PR TIMES
女性専用車両（history / anti-groping origin / voluntary status） imidas 時事用語事典
女性専用車両に反対する会 Association Opposing Women-Only Cars
「女性専用車両は“男性差別”」という声に鉄道会社はやれることはある——「毅然と対応」できない理由を聞いた Business Insider Japan
日本は世界で最もトランスジェンダーに冷たい国になりました（Ipsos Pride Report 2025） PRIDE JAPAN / OUT JAPAN