Japan’s host clubs, where young men entertain mainly female guests, have long had a system where women can pay on credit. That’s forced many female clients into massive debt, which hosts justify as a means to compel their guests into prostitution to pay up. This credit system has been held accountable for the first time as authorities shut down a club over it.
A slippery debt system is held accountable for the first time
After months of Japanese authorities cracking down on host clubs, Tokyo officials permanently shut down one establishment, citing for the first time the industry’s ubiquitous credit system called urikakekin (ๅฃฒๆ้).
The buy now, pay later scheme involves a host offering to shoulder customers’ sizable fees for drinks and services sold on credit. The tab adds up, often forcing some customers into prostitution to pay up their debts.
On May 20th, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission closed the doors to LOVE, a host club in Kabukicho, where authorities arrested and charged the host Sato (pseudonym), 28, under suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act. Sato allegedly facilitated the prostitution of his female customer Tanaka (pseudonym) after driving her into a debt of 10 million yen (over 63,700 USD) using the sale-on-credit system.
A five-year ban from running host clubs
Following the closure of LOVE, Tanaka and her family spoke with officials at the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare on the 22nd. Minister Keizo Takemi declared to “strengthen consultation systems” for customers like Tanaka whose host club debts inadvertently led to sex work.
7 clubs including LOVE shut down and 3 temporarily halted business for reasons ranging from serving underage customers, selling alcohol without displaying prices, and for the first time, exploiting the pay-later credit system.
The number of women arrested for prostitution more than doubled in 2023 from the previous year, rising above 130. Investigators say the majority were in their twenties and about 40% entered the trade to earn enough to pay debts to hosts.
Owners and employees at LOVE are banned for five years from the host club business. One of its hosts tells reporters that the ban weighs heavily on his future plans.
“I’ve only ever worked in host clubs since I was 18. I’m 36 now and can’t start something else. I haven’t been able to figure out what I’m going to do from here.”
How he sold romance
Tanaka, in her 20s, had been working in retail in Shinjuku where the red-light district Kabukicho lies. Loneliness and boredom prompted her to venture into a host club after work one night.
“I didn’t have a boyfriend and felt sad about going straight home after work. LOVE was the first host club I went to distract myself.”
As a first-time customer without a designated host, Tanaka found herself surrounded by multiple men that night. She exchanged LINE contacts with some and a few reached out. But only one requested to call that same night.
“It was only Sato who texted, ‘I want to talk to you now on the phone for a bit.’ We called for about 2 hours. Then he said, ‘I want you to come again,'” Tanaka tells reporters.
In the following days, Sato would continue texting Tanaka to say good morning and ask what she was up to. Eventually, he asked if she would visit him at LOVE again.
“But I turned him down because I couldn’t spend so much money with the salary I had. Then he said, ‘I’ll give you the money, so please come.’ ‘I want to see you.'”
Tanaka agreed. Sato handed her 30,000 yen before taking her into the club.
“I spent what I could afford with the 30,000 yen that day and felt his kindness.”
“He treated me like a boyfriend”
Sato invited Tanaka to dinner and a hotel afterward. She was already head over heels.
“He treated me like a boyfriend would. I totally fell for him.”
Tanaka, 25 now, tells reporters that in hindsight, that was Sato’s way of “selling romance.”ย
Tanaka gradually felt stronger feelings for Sato while her bank account was getting emptier. To keep up with her spending at LOVE, she quit her job in retail and went to work in the soapland brothels in Yoshihara, where customers pay for an initial bath with a ‘soap girl’ before ordering whatever they really desire.
Tanaka began work as a soap girl after Sato introduced her to a scout. Although she voluntarily became a prostitute, Sato threatened to make her work in rougher conditions if she tried to quit before paying him back.
Spending as much as 2 million yen in a single night at LOVE on champagne towers and tequila Ferris wheels put Tanaka into a debt that no other job could pay off.
Tanaka was able to escape her life as a soap girl and debts to Sato. She’s now married to another man. Yet many others like herself remain. Sadly, their numbers are hard to calculate.
The continuing crackdown
Various nightlife businesses operate in Kabukicho offering an array of services – from companionship to outright sex. All of these businesses must conform to the country’s Entertainment Law.
Tokyo police routinely bust businesses that violate the law. For example, they have shut down men’s concept cafes (con cafes) over underage drinking. SOD Land, the bar owned by adult video manufacturer Soft on Demand, was shut down for operating without the proper license.
The urikakekin used by host clubs isn’t illegal under current law. However, a national outcry over abuses like the one documented here has led politicians to propose additional restrictions on the businesses. That’s led the industry scrambling to promise it’ll self-regulate. Recently, an association of clubs in Shinjuku said they’ll collaborate on pricing and also agreed to raise the age limit for guests to 20.
If you or anyone you know has a story that resonates with Tanaka’s and is seeking guidance, the Council of Fathers and Mothers to Protect Youth is headquartered in Tokyo and is reachable at 03-5291-5335.
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Sources
ไฝใๅฃฒใฃใฆใพใงใในใใซ1000ไธๅ่ฒขใใ โฆใ็ก้ใซใผใใใซใใใฃใ20ๆญณๅฅณๆงใ็ฎใ่ฆใพใใ็็ฑ. ๆฑไบฌๆฐ่
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