‘Fuzoku bubble’ of ’80s supplied sizzling sex services

As the “bubble economy” of the ’80s started to inflate, the nation’s sex industry rose to the occasion as well, so to speak, reports Shukan Asahi Geino (Nov. 24).

Dubbed the “fuzoku bubble,” the period largely began with the establishment of Monroe Walk in Kyoto in June 1980. It was the first no-pan kissa, or coffee shop in which women do not wear under garments. Other similar establishments opened in Osaka and Tokyo later that same year.

The shops featured topless waitresses in mini-skirts and stockings parading across a reflective flooring with fans to serve coffee for between 1,500 and 2,000 yen. A second boom occurred in 1984, when services were upped to include hand-jobs in private rooms for an additional 2,000 yen. Read more

Osaka police officer arrested for accepting yakuza bribes, leaking information

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka prefectural police arrested a former sergeant on Wednesday for receiving bribes from local organized crime members and leaking information, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Nov. 10). Read more

Tokyo trends: Plucky pensioners picking up prostitutes with pay packets

Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district is known as the country’s largest soapland brothel area, offering a plethora of pleasures to please any punter, but exactly once every two months, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Oct. 21), it’s filled with many grinning grandpas game to get it on.

Around the 15th day of even-numbered months, when pension checks are issued, the numerous bathhouses and bordellos that line the rectangular area’s streets become a playground for the Yoshiwara Nenkin-zoku, or the Yoshiwara Pension Tribe.

The magazine believes that this is one example of how the below-the-belt fuzoku industry is targeting the older generation and giving up on younger, more “passive” men, or soshokukei danshi.

“Soaplands that open early remind one of a hospital lobby since they are filled with many older men,” says Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men’s entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Trip). “That is the case with a place in Ikebukuro, where you can feel-up a gal’s chest. You’ll see many seniors smiling as they enjoy fumbling with their hands.” Read more

Osaka sex clubs specializing in married women cited for tax evasion

OSAKA (TR) – The manager of a chain of sex shops staffed by married women in the Osaka area was cited this week for violating of the Income Tax Law, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sept. 28). Read more

TEPCO employees banned from Sapporo sex shop

SAPPORO (TR) – Following the request that the name Tokyo Electric Power Co. appear on a receipt for a sex club in Sapporo’s Susukino red-light district earlier this month, the establishment has decided to ban patronage from that firm, reports daily tabloid Yukan Fuji (Sept. 17). Read more

Tokyo area massage parlors providing supplementary sexual services subject to shutdown

It would seem that the hammer has begun to fall upon fuzoku services that exist inside what is considered to be a legal grey zone. Take the arrests of August 22, suggests Shukan Jitsuwa (Sep. 15) — in which Kanagawa prefectural police took the managing directors of the Kawasaki Sweet and Kawasaki Emoda massage parlors into custody for violating the nationwide adult-entertainment law.

Each salon offers private rooms and a body-washing service, which has become common over the last two years, says a writer who covers the fuzoku, or commercial sex, trade.

“A girl in a swimsuit will wash each male customer’s body, but without rendering sexual services,” the source explains. “Since these shops can operate in areas that prohibit commercial sex operations, this business plan was quickly adopted nationwide.”

However, the girls at these parlors up the intimacy ante by pressing their breasts against the bodies of clients. Read more

Hostess stabs host in Kabukicho hotel

TOKYO (TR) – A bar hostess stabbed a host in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district following a dispute early yesterday morning, reports Zakzak (Sep. 2). Read more

NPB players shunning high-end soaplands for extra-inning erotic endeavors

With the pennant races heating up, now is the time for NPB players to be at their best. Yet a feature in Shukan Taishu Venus (August 23) explains that the serious stick-playing begins after each game’s last out — albeit in a fashion that is more discreet than in days gone by.

In Tokyo, heavy hitters used to swing their bats in expensive soaplands in the Yoshiwara brothel district, and that is still true to some degree. “There’s a player with a bancho attitude that comes around,” says a beat writer with a sports paper. “He is a legend for using shops as his post-game shower room. He’ll play with three girls, no problem.”

However, a Yoshiwara street tout tells the tabloid, “We don’t see players come and play here as much as we used to.”

A fuzoku writer — that is, one who covers the sex trade — says that players are tending to use deri heru (delivery health) escort services as a means of discretion. “Since you can use your own hotel,” the source says, “there is no risk of fans or paparazzi finding out. SM clubs seem to be quite popular these days.” Read more

Chinese gals from Tokyo turn cheap tricks in Kansai after earthquake

Numerous news reports have documented the flight of foreign residents out of Tokyo following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and weekly tabloid Shukan Jitsuwa (July 7) takes an interest in the select group of Chinese females who fled to the Kansai area and now work at cut-rate massage parlors.

These illegally-operated establishments, which appear legit but offer hand-jobs, are mainly in Osaka’s Minami entertainment district.

“In the aftermath of the earthquake, only negative news reached mainland China,” says the operator of a Minami fuzoku joint. “A rumor going around said that 60 to 70% of Osaka-based Chinese took off. That left some shops with staff shortages, but there was also a sudden migration of girls from Tokyo.”

The magazine reports that there have been about 15 new shop openings within the Namba area and the border of Nihonbashi.

Prices are attractive. “Parlors with individual rooms require a minimal investment,” the same owner quoted earlier explains. “A simple curtain divides the rooms. Interior design costs are small, and staff members can be found to work for as low as 2,000 yen for an hour. So once a parlor can generate substantial revenue via intense customer rotation, they can minimize service fees.” Read more

Thanks for the mammaries: The terekura turns 25

“It changed the way that men and women meet” — a bold statement indeed, and weekly tabloid Shukan Jitsuwa (June 9) is paying tribute to that game-changer, the terekura, which this year turns 25, or thereabouts.

For the uninitiated, and within SJ’s readership there are few meeting that criteria, a terekura (telephone club) operation includes a room or booth with a phone that men pay to enter and receive calls from women interested in going on dates if the terms are suitable.

“For enjoyment and making money, the fundamental rule is to let guys flirt with you,” explains 43-year-old Hanayo, who started at such clubs from the age of 17.

“The guy was around 40,” she remembers of her first encounter. “He was a good talker and made me give my virginity to him. He told me he knew how to do it without pain.” Read more

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