Do you know how prostitution works in Japan? How to find escorts? Is prostitution illegal in Japan? In this article, we will look at some curiosities and information about prostitution and its history in Japan.
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Is prostitution illegal in Japan?
Since 1956, there has been a law that prohibits prostitution in Japan, but people find loopholes, gaps, and interpretations in the laws that allow the sex industry to thrive in the country, generating over 2.3 trillion yen per year.
Japan defines prostitution as sexual intercourse with an unknown individual in exchange for payment. To circumvent this, businesses and brothels offer sexual massages and other services that do not involve sex as a pretext.
Therefore, it is common in Japan to find places where you pay to talk to a woman, pay to bathe, or pay to dance. There are bars where you pay just to grope the breasts of Japanese women, and other places offer unusual services.
Of course, most official massage houses offer the full service in the dark. After all, there is no way to supervise this well. Hundreds of suspicious places circulate the neighborhoods of Tokyo and other cities.
The history of prostitution in Japan
The sex industry in Japanese is called fuzoku [風俗], which can be literally translated to vulgar style [風] [俗] or simply as manners, customs, and public morals. This word encompasses exactly any indecent service.
Be careful, as the word fuzoku also has meanings unrelated to prostitution or sex. Another word that can also refer to the sex industry is mizu sobai [水商売], and the word that refers to prostitution prohibited by law is baishunfu [売春].
Contrary to what some think, geishas have nothing to do with prostitution. In reality, becoming a geisha was a way for women to have a dignified job and not succumb to prostitution, which was very strong at the time.
Women in Japan lived for many years in a state of slavery. Prostitution in Japan became popular with Chinese, Koreans, Europeans, Africans, and other foreigners buying young Japanese women and making them sex slaves on their ships.
Right in the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate limited prostitution to areas called yuukaku [遊廓], the most famous being Yoshiwara in Tokyo, Shinmachi in Osaka, and Shimabara in Kyoto. The prostitutes were called yujo [遊女].
The deception of prostitution in Japan
One of the biggest deceptions is that many of the prostitutes providing services in Japan are not legitimate Japanese. In 2003 alone, over 150,000 non-Japanese women were reported to be involved in prostitution in Japan.
Many businesses and massage houses hire Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai women to work in these places. It turns out that many foreigners get involved with an Asian woman thinking she is Japanese.
As prostitution is officially prohibited in Japan, many industries use sexual impulses to sell alternative things that do not satisfy the appetite but become addictive, such as hostess clubs where you pay to talk to girls.
Sex toys, erotic and animated videos, provocative banners, practically many things are made to compensate for the surface of prostitution in the country and the false purity that the Japanese wish to present. Some even pay simply to have their ears cleaned with a cotton swab by a beautiful young woman.
Others end up addicted to snack bars, places where young skilled waitresses use their charms to seduce customers and make them spend more and more money in the false hope of having a night with them.
Prostitution in massage houses
Massage houses are quite popular in Japan. Some Japanese work a lot and need a place to relax, whether in an onsen or in a specialized massage house. There are different massage establishments spread throughout Japan, some unisex, others exclusive to women, etc.
Some of these massage establishments may offer the famous “sex massage,” which consists of a massage that can include the genitals of both parties involved. Usually, this service is booked online at a hotel.
If you visit neighborhoods like Kabukichou, you may find suspicious men inviting you to these places. They usually charge around 10,000 yen for the erotic massage and probably have their own establishments.
It is unlikely that a massage house will openly advertise these services, but you can notice by the price and the provocative posters. Although erotic massage is not prohibited by prostitution law, many industries use this to sell sex discreetly.
Generally, when hiring a girl for an erotic massage, she may likely agree to have sexual relations if you pay an additional fee. She may also charge specific amounts for each different thing you desire. You will probably easily spend more than 20,000 yen for these services.
How to find escorts in Japan?
As mentioned earlier, you can easily find encounters without sexual relations just to have someone to talk to. If you want to find an escort for sexual relations, the easiest way would be to go to the red-light districts and massage houses.
The best way to find an escort is to search online for websites that feature these girls and schedule an appointment with them. You can also use Google Maps and search for [風俗店] (fuuzokuten) to find desired places.
Be careful with strangers offering these services on the street, especially in neighborhoods like Kabukichou. I will not recommend any specific place, as I hate this kind of practice; I am writing only to satisfy the curious.
I hope you enjoyed the article. If you liked it, share it and leave your comments. Be very careful in the places you get involved in Japan. Many are run by yakuza members or you could end up in jail (very rare).
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