An almost unending series of stories of women who’ve been exploited by host clubs has led to mounting legal pressure on the institutions. In a move apparently intended to forestall strict new regulations, Shinjuku’s club owners say they’ll adopt voluntary rules to help curb abuses.
An exploitative industry?
Host clubs are nightclubs where conventionally attractive men (by Japanese standards) spend time in close conversation with female customers. The clubs make money in several ways, such as by selling expensive bottles of alcohol and pitting hosts’ fans against one another in cash-raising competitions.
Some customers can spend hundreds of thousands of yen (thousands of dollars) in a single evening. Women can also find themselves in debt due to the urikakekin (売掛金) system, where customers make a large financial commitment on temporary credit that comes due in weeks.
Over the past year, Japanese news has been rife with stories of women who’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on hosts. Many take up prostitution as a source of easy cash.
New rules
The increased attention has host clubs fearing for their lucrative futures. This week, a group of 19 companies that operate some 300 host clubs in and around Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district announced they were forming a new organization. Effective in April 2024, the group says it will work on information sharing and self-policing.
As a pre-emptive strike against legislation, the group also announced a new rule: as of January 2024, its clubs will not allow first-time visitors ages 18 and 19. Existing customers will still be able to visit.
Japan recently lowered the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18. Some vice activities – such as drinking or smoking – are still restricted to those 20 years of age or older. However, under Japan’s current Entertainment Law (fuuzokuhou), anyone age 18 or older is legally allowed to visit a host club. That makes the new restriction tougher than the existing law.
The new organization also said that, effective April 2024, it would end the urikakekin debtor system.
Authorities enter 350 host clubs
But stopping additional enforcement action may, at this point, be a fantasy. Host club malfeasance has become a bipartisan issue, with both the ruling and opposition parties calling for stricter regulation of the industry. Recently, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) sent a letter to the Tokyo police asking them to crack down on the clubs.
This week, the police did just that. Some 130 officers entered 350 host clubs and concept cafes in Shinjuku.
Local media has little details on what the authorities found, if anything. According to Asahi Shimbun, cops were mostly looking to enforce existing laws, such as ensuring that the clubs’ prices were displayed in accordance with the Entertainment Law and that the stores had signs forbidding anyone under 18 from entering.
As we reported earlier this year, multiple concept cafes, or con cafes, have been busted this year for serving minors. In April, police arrested two employees at NA Cafe in Shinjuku for serving a 16- and 17-year-old. In May, they arrested two men at META Cafe for serving a 15-year-old and then threatening her over her tab.
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Sources
歌舞伎町ホストクラブ、約300店で業界団体設立 2024年から18、19歳の新規入店お断り. Tokyo Shimbun
東京・歌舞伎町のホストクラブ・コンカフェなど約350店舗に一斉立ち入り 女性客への“高額請求”が問題に 警視庁. FNN Prime Online
歌舞伎町のホストクラブ350店舗立ち入り 警視庁、営業実態把握へ. Asahi Shimbun
