Photo/Illutration Investigators of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department enter a “soapland” located in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Jan. 7. (Shun Yoshimura)

A “scouting” group gained about 7 billion yen ($44 million) for introducing women to around 350 sex businesses around Japan between July 2019 and October 2024, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department said.

Kazuma Endo, 33, the leader of the group called Access, was rearrested on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Law by recruiting women for prostitution, the MPD said on Jan. 9.

It was his third arrest, this time over the dispatch of a woman in her 20s to a sex business in Oita Prefecture.

Endo has denied the allegations, saying, “I don’t know anything about it.”

The MPD said it determined that Access was involved in malicious human trafficking by recruiting women, many in heavy debt, mainly on social media.

The department established a special investigation headquarters on Jan. 8 to fully understand the workings of the group.

According to the security division of MPD, Access has about 300 members and has done business in Tokyo and 45 prefectures.

The number of members has increased through social media and introductions by acquaintances.

The roles of the members included scouting women and offering to introduce them to sex business operators.

The security division said the group ranked each woman who applied for the job on an eight-level scale based on their appearance.

Part of the money these women earned in the sex trade was given to Access as introduction fees, the MPD said.

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