Tokyo emerging as hub for ‘sex tourism’: Report

Tokyo, Japan’s capital, is reportedly emerging as a hub for “sex tourism” amidst a weakening currency and growing poverty, according to the report. Yoshihide Tanaka, Secretary General of the Liaison Council Protecting Youths (Seiboren), remarked in This Week in Asia, “Japan has become a poor country.”

Seiboren has observed a significant rise in foreign visitors, particularly Chinese men, frequenting Tokyo’s sex industry since the easing of post-pandemic travel restrictions. This trend coincides with an increase in teenage girls and women in their early twenties joining the sex trade to make ends meet, along with a rise in related violence, Tanaka noted.

Areas like Okubo Park have reportedly become hotspots for such activities, forming part of the tourism experience in Tokyo, according to Kazuna Kanajiri, a representative of Paps, a nonprofit supporting victims of sexual violence. In response, police have intensified crackdowns in neighborhoods like Okubo Park, arresting 140 women for alleged street prostitution in 2023.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) revealed that 43% of the arrested women cited financial struggles related to host clubs or underground male idols as their reason for entering the trade. About 80% were in their twenties, with some younger than 19. Tokyo’s Kabukicho district alone hosts approximately 240–260 such clubs, where workers face pressure to meet daily quotas, with sessions averaging 20,000 yen.

Despite the crackdown, critics argue that law enforcement disproportionately targets women in the trade while neglecting the violence and exploitation they face. Japan’s anti-prostitution law prohibits transactional sex involving penetration, imposing penalties of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 yen—but only on the seller, not the buyer.

Kazunori Yamanoi, a lawmaker from the Constitutional Democratic Party, Japan’s main opposition party, emphasized that the issue tarnishes the image of Japanese women internationally and called for stricter regulations on the sex industry. However, activists stress the need for broader reforms that address the systemic vulnerabilities of women rather than merely penalizing them.