Not many Japanese these days are getting out to see the world. Some who do are finding that their tourist dollars aren’t welcome. In particular, countries such as the US and Australia are increasingly rejecting women traveling alone, turning them back at the border. The culprit? A spike in overseas prostitution from Japan, combined with good ol’-fashioned sexism.
A weak yen creates a dekasegi boom
Japan has always had a very strong sex work trade – both legal and illicit. Recently, however, a number of factors have been driving some to ply their trade outside of Japan’s borders.
Bengoshi JP talked to one woman, A, who says she tried working at one of Japan’s legal brothels but never found success. (Prostitution is technically illegal in Japan, but sei-fūzoku, or sex entertainment businesses, employ workarounds to toe the legal line.) Workers were expected to drum up business via social media, but A says she wasn’t good at it and could only land one or two customers a day.
That’s when someone contacted A for dekasegi baishun (出稼ぎ売春), or remote sex work – in this case, overseas sex work. At 200,000 yen ($1,270) a day, and with herself and two dogs to support, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse. She now regularly works abroad in other Asian countries, making up to 2 million yen ($12,775) for two weeks’ work.
The nature of the work can vary. For some, it’s work at a brothel or private event. Others are engaged in sugar babying (パパ活; papa-katsu), a financial/sexual relationship with a single stable partner.
It’s risky work. Conditions in the host country might be shoddy, downright vile, or even dangerous. But for many, it’s an increasingly attractive way to earn fast money. A says she meets many women who are using the funds to pay for plastic surgery or pay off host clubs, which are notorious for convincing their female customers to take on steep debts to support their oshi.
Office workers, career women caught in the net
As the number of Japanese women seeking sex work abroad increases, so does the number of cases in which foreign nations turn Japanese women away at the border.
Freelance journalist Matsuoka Kasumi, who’s written a book about overseas sex work from Japan (note: affiliate link; title only available in Japanese), says she’s talking to more and more women who are entering the overseas sex trade. Some say they’re driven by frustration that their incomes in Japan remain stagnant, no matter how hard they work.
That’s leading some countries to flag any women who travel alone from Japan as possible sex workers. As a result, some women who’ve never even considered entering the sex trade are finding that their vacations have ended before they’ve even begun.
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This isn’t new. I wrote back in 2023 about how Customs and Border Protection officials in Hawaii were routinely turning away single Japanese female travelers. As a result, more sex workers are targeting other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand.
Some experts say that’s leading to a new wave of immigration denials for single Japanese female travelers. Matsuoka spoke with a paralegal, Satō Tomoyo, who frequently advises travelers on immigration matters. Satō reports that she used to conduct four or five such consultations per year. Recently, she has had approximately eight per month.
In the case of the US, prostitution is illegal. While it’s legal in other countries, such as parts of Australia (e.g., New South Wales), there’s no such thing as a sexual services visa. That leads sex workers to enter on visitor visas to earn (untaxed) income.
Satō doesn’t just talk to sex workers, though. She’s spoken to students, office workers, and others who say they’ve been turned away even though they’ve never earned a single yen from sex work.
In the United States, Border Patrol officers have the final say on whether an individual may enter the country. If they decide, based on a woman’s appearance, that she “appears” to be a prostitute, then that’s the end of her trip to the States.
Newbies more liable to get caught
Satō says she’s heard from many sex workers – all in their 20s and 30s, all traveling alone – who have been turned away from Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Seattle, and cities in Hawaii. Most of these are women new to the field who don’t know how to disguise their intentions.
Newbie sex workers, for example, may give honest but naive answers to questions about their work back in Japan. If a woman admits she works at a hostess club, for example, that’s almost certain to lead to a denied entry, as immigration officers will assume she’s come to the US for prostitution.
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By contrast, says Satō, seasoned professionals know they should dress plainly (sweats, no makeup) and give nondescript answers to questions, especially if they work in a sex-oriented industry back home.
Sadly, the combination of Japan’s increasing reputation as a nexus of international sex work and worldwide puritanism means that Japanese women outside of the sex trade may do well to adopt the same tactics.
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Sources
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