Raid Those Sleazy Host Clubs!

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The Diet has enacted the Revised Control and Improvement of Amusement Business Law to regulate malicious host clubs. It should be promulgated as early as late May and take effect in late June.

We cannot continue to tolerate the injustice of shady operations forcing female customers into prostitution. Host club operators are deceptively saddling female customers with huge debts to trap them. Hopefully, the police and other relevant agencies will strictly enforce the revised law and eradicate these malicious operations.

How the Operators Trap Victims

In a widespread practice, scheming hosts at such clubs entice vulnerable female customers into falling in love with them. They then convince their besotted admirers to order expensive champagne and other expensive drinks one after another. In no time, the unwary women find themselves drowning in debt to cover the hefty "tabs" they have run up. This racket has become a serious social problem.

In addition, the widespread practice of "scout kickbacks" has exacerbated the damage. This refers to hosts and scouts who introduce their customers to sex establishments and then receive a "referral fee."

The revised law outright bans such practices. It also clearly states that requests for food and drink that exploit "romantic feelings or other affectionate feelings" are "prohibited." Businesses using such exploitative approaches will be subject to administrative sanctions such as suspension of their business licenses.

*As the sun sets, street prostitutes become more visible in front of Okubo Park in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. (Some images have been edited.)*

Behavior designed to coerce customers to pay their inflated tabs by engaging in prostitution, working in sex establishments, appearing in adult videos, or other such acts will face heavier criminal penalties. Violators will be subject to up to six months in prison and a fine of up to ¥1 million JPY ($7,000 USD).

Additionally, the use of scout kickbacks has been banned. Unlicensed businesses will also be subject to tougher penalties. Fines on such illegal businesses have been increased to a maximum of ¥300 million ($2.1 million).

Making the Rules Effective

According to the National Police Agency, a total of 207 hosts and related persons were arrested in 2024 for violating the Anti-Prostitution Law, coercing others, or related offenses. That was an increase of 121 from the previous year.

In Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district, where there are many host clubs, business operators established an industry association in April 2014. They also adopted voluntary rules, such as abolishing running tabs in the form of accounts receivable. But the reality is that the situation has not improved.

The involvement of anonymous mobile crime groups in the rampant practice of scouting kickbacks has also been pointed out. Collectively, these crime groups are dubbed tokuryu. The revised entertainment law appropriately strengthens regulations regarding this vile practice.

*Nighttime in Minami, Osaka, where lounges and host clubs are crowded in the surrounding multi-tenant buildings. On October 4, 2024. (©Sankei by Yusuke Kizu, originally for another topic)*

Next, the crucial question is how to apply the law effectively. It will be difficult to clearly draw a line as to what constitutes the now-prohibited "acts based on romantic feelings." Are statements and behavior, like "You have to come to our bar, or our relationship is finished," or "If you don't want to break up, you have to drink here with me," covered? It would help if specific guidelines for crackdowns were made public.

The revised entertainment law will also apply to pricey hostess clubs. After the law comes into force, we hope to see the police step up enforcement, including by actively raiding offending establishments. That is the only way we can root out these sleazy businesses.