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Osaka maid cafes raided for improper licensing

Moesta
Moesta

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Tuesday raided two maid cafes in the Nipponbashi area of Osaka for licensing violations, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 26).

Officers from the Naniwa Police Station took manager Koji Tatsumi, 30, and one other suspect into custody for allegedly providing business entertainment services at cafes Moesta and Alice without proper licensing in accordance with the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses.

Tatsumi has reportedly denied the allegations. “There was no such entertainment provided,” he is quoted by police.

Since last year, there has been an explosion in the number of maid cafes, where women in costumes serve men, that overcharge customers in the Nipponbashi area, police said.

In December, investigators entered multiple cafes in Nipponbashi and determined that two were operating illegally. The arrests on Tuesday were the result of a continuation of the same business practices. Officers cited the entertainment of a 39-year-old male on February 17 as one example.