Yokohama ‘girl’s bar’ busted, attire deemed inappropriate

The manager of an entertainment club in Kanagawa Prefecture was arrested this week for operating an inappropriately licensed bar staffed entirely by women, according to Sankei News (Apr. 21).

Hidetoshi Kawada, 38, of no fixed address, was cited by prefectural police on April 20 for staffing club B with ladies positioned behind a counter who were attired in loose-fitting men’s shirts (no bra underneath), high-cut shorts, and pantyhose — a violation of the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses given the club’s licensing as an eating and drinking venue and not a locale of adult entertainment.

The Sankei report says that the police found eight girls and an equal number of male customers inside the club just before 11 p.m. on the day of the arrest. The club started in October of last year and reportedly generates montly revenues of between 3.5 million yen and 4.5 million yen.

Located in the nightlife quarter of Isezakicho in Yokohama’s Naka Ward, 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 means for kyabakura (or hostess) clubs to maneuver around increasingly strict enforcement of the nationwide adult law.

In the case of B, Kanagawa Prefecture police determined that the staff’s seductive attire and behavior constituted companionship and not mere bar service. Sankei reports that the majority of the staff at B are in their late teens and 20s, with the Asahi Shimbun indicating that the customers can meet with the girls outside of the club and that an affiliated hostess club exists on the second floor of the building.

Video footage of the club is provided in this report by ANN News. (A.T.)

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