Top
Print this article Print this article

Kabukicho ‘girl’s bar’ busted in sofa snafu

October 28, 2008

girl
TOKYO – A female employee at a specialty hostess club was arrested over the weekend for sitting next to a customer.

The infraction occurred when a 24-year-old lady staffed at “girl’s bar” Double, located in Tokyo’s red-light district of Kabukicho, was found to be sitting next to a male patron on a sofa just before 2 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The girl’s bar is a nightlife trend whereby casually dressed young women serve drinks and make conversation from behind a counter – and not while seated next to a customer, as is standard practice in a conventional hostess club. This orientation is an attempt to circumvent the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses, which prohibits entertainment of customers after 1 a.m. Bars only for drinking, however, are not classified as entertainment.

In recent years, discos, hostess clubs, and various sex businesses in Tokyo have come under increased pressure as a result of stricter enforcement of this national law, which dates back to 1948. Following this citywide crackdown, dozens of girl’s bars have opened across the metropolis to exploit the loophole in the law.

The National Police Agency, however, realizes the true nature of the operations. “We consider them to be of the same category,” said a NPA official in an interview earlier this month. “We are not distinguishing them from other adult businesses.”

Double opened in April.

  • Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

reddit.com

Comments

8 Responses to “Kabukicho ‘girl’s bar’ busted in sofa snafu”

  1. Girl power : The Tokyo Reporter on November 3rd, 2008 5:28 pm

    [...] November issue of Japan Inc. magazine. An article about the bust of a girl’s bar can be found here. Share and [...]

  2. Kabukicho conundrum : The Tokyo Reporter on December 15th, 2008 9:16 pm

    [...] The National Police Agency, however, realizes the true nature of the bars. “We consider them to be of the same category,” said a NPA official in an interview in October. “We are not distinguishing them from other adult businesses.” To show that the authorities are indeed monitoring the situation, a 24-year-old female employee at girl’s bar Double was arrested for sitting next a male patron on a sofa just before 2 a.m. on a Saturday morning in October. [...]

  3. camerasian on December 17th, 2008 2:26 pm

    I wonder who nicked her and what happened to the poor woman.

    The first paragraph needs a “to.”

  4. CJ on December 19th, 2008 5:38 pm

    In talking to Kabukicho regulars for this story:

    http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2008/12/15/kabukicho-conundrum/

    I heard that police sweeps through all businesses after 1 a.m. were not unusual.

  5. Clampdown on boys behind bars in Kabukicho | The Tokyo Reporter - News, Features, and Photos from Tokyo on March 21st, 2009 6:51 pm

    [...] received between 50 to 60 patrons each day and accumulated 4.8 million yen in receipts monthly, the violation occurred due to guys chatting with ladies at tables in the early morning, a violation of the adult business law that requires such [...]

  6. Yokohama ‘girl’s bar’ busted, attire deemed inappropriate | The Tokyo Reporter - News, Features, and Photos from Tokyo on April 22nd, 2009 8:23 am

    [...] in the nightlife quarter of Isezakicho in Yokohama, club B is termed a “girl’s bar,” a recent adult entertainment development whereby ladies serve patrons from behind a counter in a manner similar to a typical bar — a [...]

  7. Akiba-Station » Yokohama “Girls Bar” Busted for Inappropriate Attire on April 23rd, 2009 4:44 am

    [...] will become an increasingly frequent issue as the number of ‘girls bars’ increases. Not uncommon in other Asian countries, these [...]

  8. Crackdown on ‘girl’s bars’ | The Tokyo Reporter - News, Features, and Photos from Tokyo on October 22nd, 2009 2:49 pm

    [...] that Weekly Playboy routinely features in its pages, the magazine is now finding that ‘girl’s bars,’ which are clubs staffed by ladies serving from behind a counter, are also becoming a target [...]

Got something to say?





Bottom