Press "Enter" to skip to content

Report proposes restrictions on ‘JK’ school girl businesses

Some cafes and massage parlors reportedly force underage workers to sing while providing sexual services
Some cafes and massage parlors reportedly force underage workers to sing while providing sexual services

TOKYO (TR) – A panel of experts proposed legal restrictions on so-called “JK” school girl businesses, where high school girls under 18 provide services to customers, during a meeting on Sunday.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department plans to study a report drafted by a panel of experts on Wednesday calling for legal restrictions on JK (joshi kosei) school girl businesses to decide if Tokyo Metropolitan Government ordinances need to be amended, the Nikkei Shimbun reports (May 25).

Police said there were some 174 school girl businesses operating in Tokyo as of January, an increase of 40 from last June. Most of the establishments are cafes, which lure high school girls into employment with promises of easy money.

Schoolgirl businesses are said to be increasingly rife with illegal activity. Some cafes and massage parlors reportedly force underage workers to sing while providing sexual services.

The experts proposed the report to clamp down on illicit establishments that force young girls to perform sexual activities. Guidelines include bans on businesses near schools and the soliciting and hiring girls under 18.

The report also proposed forcing schoolgirl businesses to submit notifications to the Public Safety Commission along with a list of workers. It said failure to comply with regulations should result in penalties for managers and other relevant individuals.

The five-member panel set up by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police consists of the likes of experts and lawyers, who have been discussing youth problems since its formation in February.

Aichi Prefecture was the first in Japan to enact comprehensive regulations on schoolgirl businesses last July.

Between 2012 and 2015, police apprehended 54 individuals working in 31 stores on suspicion of violating the Labor Standards Act as well as the Child Welfare Act for forcing high school girls to provide sexual services, according to the Mainichi Shimbun.