Photo/Illutration A suspected prostitute, second from left, is questioned by a plainclothes police officer, third from left, near Okubo Park in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on July 15. (Shoko Mifune)

Police have intensified their crackdown on prostitutes around Okubo Park in Tokyo’s Kabukicho, Japan’s largest red-light district, where an increasing number of women are seeking cash to visit host clubs and “idol” cafes.

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested 80 women aged between 20 and 46 from January to September around the park on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law. In all of last year, the number of such arrests was 51.

In September alone, police arrested 35 suspected prostitutes around Okubo Park.

About 70 percent of the suspects were in their 20s. Many were unemployed or working in the adult entertainment business.

More than 90 percent of them were first-time offenders, according to police.

Around 40 percent of the 35 suspects said they were selling their bodies to make money to visit host clubs or “con cafes,” where underground male idols work.

About 10 percent of the women cited general financial difficulties.

INSPECTIONS IN KABUKICHO

According to reports, some women who become addicted to host clubs and con cafes borrow money from these establishments to continue their visits. Workers at these places often coerce such customers into working in the sex industry to pay off the debts.

In late September, police inspected 110 establishments in Kabukicho, including host clubs and con cafes, in accordance with the Amusement Business Law.

Officers handed out fliers that read, “Having customers engage in prostitution is also punishable (under the law).”

The area around Okubo Park has long been known as a spot where prostitutes solicit customers.

But this year, the MPD has received numerous reports about increased illicit activity around the park. Images of prostitutes have spread on social media, and more people began gathering there after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.

WOMEN WAIT, MEN APPROACH

On one evening in mid-July, nearly 20 women were standing at intervals around Okubo Park, fiddling with their smartphones. Most of them appeared to be waiting for customers.

The men who approached them would ask: “What are you doing?” and “How much?”

A plainclothes police officer spoke to one of the women, and she admitted that she was prostituting herself. She was in her 20s and said she needed money to give to the man she was living with.

PROVIDING SUPPORT

Police have assigned specialized counselors for prostitutes since last year.

If counselors believe the women need financial support, they connect them with local government welfare offices because many prostitutes do not know that public assistance is available.

Emiko Kikuchi, a 65-year-old counselor, said some women move to Tokyo to escape issues at their workplaces or personal relationships.

However, it is difficult for them to find work without a residence in the capital, and some resort to prostitution around Okubo Park.

In 2022, 15 of the 59 suspected prostitutes were referred to local government welfare offices.

Four of the 35 women arrested in September are now reportedly seeking government assistance.

Kikuchi said she is happy when she sees the relief on the women’s faces after connecting them with welfare offices.

“I want such women to think of the future and have some hope,” Kikuchi said.

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