Chikara Kamimura, 44, manager of club Proud, a soapland (erotic bathhouse) in the Fukuhara district, was written up for violating the Child Welfare Law. The girl utilized a 21-year-old friend’s driver’s license during the application process.

More sophisticated means, however, are being utilized by middle and high school girls wanting to gain employment in the fuzoku (commercial sex) biz.

Teruhiko Aoyama, a fuzoku writer, says that special establishments termed gizo-ya (forgery shop) are now specializing in producing fake identification documents. “The number of young girls in the deri heru trade has increased in recent times as a result,” says the writer, referring to sex services operating on an out-call basis.

Aoyama adds that the companies will place ads on the Internet clearly indicating that they can assist minors in obtaining work in the fuzoku biz. “While the forgeries are being prepared the companies will also offer advice regarding how to handle the interview, such as remembering the Zodiac sign for the age of impersonation.”

How are the fakes produced?

“The easiest counterfeit documents to make are health cards, as they do not require photographs,” says Aoyama, adding that a scanner and an original card are all it takes to churn out a quality fake in a snap. The market price for such a service is 100,000 yen.

Perhaps ironically, if a student identification card is presented on the spot an installment payment plan can be arranged. There are also forgers who will counterfeit driver’s licenses but the process is more laborious and the price averages 200,000 yen.

“Either way,” Aoyama says, “the girls will be able to pay back the amount in no time.”

Shukan Jitsuwa knows of a former fuzoku-jo (working gal) who earned roughly 350,000 yen a month after presenting a faked health insurance card when she was 17 years old.

What can the clubs do to protect themselves?

“Over concerns about being caught, I’ve become nervous,” says a Shinjuku deri heru club operator. “To combat fake health cards, I had requested the candidates bring in school graduation albums. But there are even shops now capable of faking those. It’s a tough business.” (K.N.)

Source: “Fuzoku-jo tei nenrei ni katan suru gizo-ya,” Shukan Jitsuwa (May 31)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

According to the TMD’s Shinjuku Station, officers took manager Takeshi Komatsubara, 54, into custody for selling uncensored discs copied electromagnetically at the store Dragon@V in the Kabukicho entertainment district. Investigators on Wednesday raided Komatsubara’s establishment and seized 6,600 discs.

The suspect operated the business out of a rented space that did not utilize an advertising sign. Kabukicho attracts buyers of these types of DVDs, and this will not be the last bust of place attempting to evade detection by using a rented office space, police said.

Komatsubara started business in January, and in that three-month period he collected 1.5 million yen in revenue.

By law, films available in Japan are required to have genitalia properly censored. Further, changes in legislation made in July regarding the sale of uncensored DVDs copied electromagnetically were enacted to prohibit sales.

わいせつDVD6600枚所持　移転繰り返し摘発逃れか

On February 24, officers took managers Yuji Isa, 51, and Hiroaki Kato, 30, and two other employees of club Pippi, located in the Roppongi and Shinjuku entertainment areas, into custody for allowing female staff members to sit and serve at the same table as customers — a violation of the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses.

Pippi is a variation of a hostess club termed a “girl’s bar,” which are clubs legally registered as eating-and-drinking establishments that under the adult-entertainment law are not allowed to offer personal one-on-one companionship.

Pin-up models Asami Tada, 23, and Rio Natsume, 27, served as founders of the Roppongi branch, which opened last September and has netted revenues of 15 million yen. The Shinjuku outlet opened in August and has amassed 24 million yen in revenue.

“At the time of the raid, the Roppongi club was having a special ‘pin-up idol day,’” said a person affiliated with the investigation. “Four of the 10 gals in the club were idols. At the Shinjuku branch, a similar event was being held for AV actresses, who numbered five of the 13 girls present.”

Nikkan Gendai notes that in addition to the aforementioned idols Mai Koide is a staff member at the Roppongi branch. The Shinjuku club is staffed by AV actresses Nana Otone and Shoko Akiyama.

According to the operation’s Web site, which has since been taken down, both outlets offered an all-you-can-drink service starting at 5,000 yen for 60 minutes from 11:30 p.m.

AV writer Kazuo Kajiyama says that weak monthly earnings of between three and four million yen per branch forced management to escalate services whereby customers were able to sit next to the hostesses. “Tada, Koide, Otone, and Akiyama do not have real name value,” says the writer. “Natsume, however, does have a degree of popularity, but she had a baby last October. So she hasn’t been able to work. It is natural that things have declined.”

Kajiyama adds that customers are growing weary of girl’s bars and there have been numerous closings as a result. “Clubs offering AV actresses are popular,” he says. “But in the end it got to where the big-breasted actresses were offering glimpses of their nipples to maintain interest.”

グラビアアイドルら接待　六本木で「無許可」営業

Shinjuku 1-chome borders on 2-chome, home to Tokyo’s largest hangout for gays.

Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 1) reports that at the time of the police raid, some 25 patrons were on the premises.

The club, named “Destruction,” had been in business since 1997 and was well known in the trade as a place where gay men went to seek companionship.

“The club’s on the second floor of an office building,” a local news reporter tells the magazine. “There are about 20 private cubicles closed off by curtains and one large room. There are peepholes for looking into the cubicles. Most of the customers prance around completely naked or nearly so, and if you brush up against another customer, that’s likely to lead to some action.”

The charge of admission is 500 yen for minors and 1,500 yen for age 20 and over. Depending on the night of the week, the club would organize special events catering to “baldies,” “guys with short hair,” “guys with beards,” and so on.

As many as 90 males might attend in the course of one evening, according to a police source, and business was booming.

“The club was netting something like 4 million yen a month just from admission fees,” says the Shinjuku cop. “On top of that it peddled various goods for gays, magazines, legal drugs, and so on, so I suppose this brought in additional revenues.”

The club is situated in a quiet residential area, and nearby residents, apparently aggravated by the raucous animal-like screams being emitted — complained to police, which resulted in the raid and arrests. (K.S.)

Source: “Zekkyo mo genin datta gei kurabu tekihatsu,” Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 1, page 196)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

“In the beginning, he used to go to gambling joints in Japan,” a reporter for a national paper tells weekly tabloid Shukan Taishu (Dec. 12). “But he eventually went overseas, where he was able to bet higher. He then became addicted.”

The tabloid says that Ikawa started in the murky underworld of illegal Japanese casinos — establishments that big-name celebrities and sports stars also frequent.

(It should be noted that, aside from motorbike, horse, boat, and bicycle racing, gambling is prohibited in Japan. Pachinko is not classified as gambling.)

A former casino dealer, now retired, says that Baccarat is the most common game in these parlors, which are known to spring up in red-light districts. “With its simple rules, many will fall for it,” the source says.

The former casino employee is not surprised to see what has happened with Ikawa as many customers rack up large losses. The key for the casino, the former dealer says, is to create a cycle within the clientele whereby breaks are given to losing gamblers if they invite associates to play.

“A few years ago, there was a professional baseball player who was a regular,” the former dealer says, adding that the player in question was drafted in the ’80s and remains a big name today. “While he was not comparable to Ikawa, as far as level, everyone knew he was putting a lot on the line.”

But he racked up big losses. To offset the amount, the casino asked him to extend an invitation to a younger teammate, known as a solid contact hitter, to join.

“The scheme is well designed so that when a person faces a large loss they are forced to supply a referral for another person of equal income level,” the former dealer explains.

Ken Kitashiba, a crime analyst, explains that casino money is a source of funds for organized crime groups. “In the beginning, underground casinos were 10-yen poker games found in the backs of cafes,” the analyst says.

In the early ’90s, extravagantly designed establishments started to take hold in the Shinjuku and Roppongi entertainment areas of Tokyo.

This trend escalated, with bets of ten million yen not being unusual. “Rich and famous people are easy targets for these illegal casinos,” the former dealer says. “Casinos conduct background checks for their clients, including relationships with women, so that there is no escape.”

Perhaps such a scheme was behind the downfall of Ikawa?

“People like Ikawa hold a high status in society,” explains the former underground casino employee. “Just like baseball players, they are ideal targets.” (A.T.)

Source: “Puro yakyu senshu ga hamatta ura kajino joshu tobaku dakikomu teguchi,” Shukan Taishu (Dec. 12, pages 188-189)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

On October 31, the Ministry of the Environment announced new guidelines that will ban the exhibition of pet commodities during late hours. Set to start next June, the legislation aims to prohibit the display of cats and dogs after 8 p.m.

In Tokyo, late-night shops are common in the entertainment areas of Ginza, Roppongi, and Shinjuku. Most of their visitors after midnight are hostesses in flashy make-up and outfits who wonder aloud how ownership can be attained.

“I visit here after I’ve dealt with particularly difficult customers or simply felt fatigued,” a 25-year-old hostess tells the tabloid as she locks her eyes on a Chihuahua, priced at 250,000 yen. “By looking at them, I can feel a soothing feeling. I will feel sad if I don’t get to see them.”

A 38-year-old hostess, accompanied by a customer, realizes that it is tough on the animals. “But it is nice to be able to see them as we deal with issues or situations that cannot be simply shared with others,” she says.

She then asks her companion to buy one for her.

“While they provide soothing moments, it’s temporary,” explains a 48-year-old bar mama-san. “For the sake of the animals, it should be regulated.”

Incidents of hostesses receiving poodles as gifts from their patrons and then returning them quickly for cash, a process known as “pet recycle,” are common in the entertainment areas of Tokyo and Osaka.

The article notes that these types of cases are the basis for the Ministry’s action, but adds that most shops that operate have not come up with a concrete strategy for navigating the new mandate.

The hostesses, too, are a concern, says Shukan Post: With the soothing smiles of dogs and cats set to fade from the night-life scene, where will the girls turn in search of relief? (A.T.)

Source: “Inu neko shoppu no ‘shinya tenji kinshi’ wo Ginza no hosutesu ni kiitemitara,” Shukan Post (Nov. 18, pages 141-142)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

Atsuo Yoshinari, 27, a resident of Nishi Shinjuku, Tokyo, and two others were taken into custody by officers from the youth affairs department for employing a 17-year-old girl to supply sexual services to a 41-year-old office worker in a hotel in Kita Ward in June.

According to police, between September and October last year, Yoshinori recruited more than 1,500 men via encounter Web sites to be customers for women under the age of 25. The rates were set at 20,000 yen per session. Revenues totaled 30 million yen.

Nippon Television reports that Yoshinori formerly worked as a club host.

The plan was revealed when the mother of the teenage girl, who is now 18, consulted with police sometime in June.

“Legal herbs” have documented adverse effects, but there are no laws regulating their possession and utilization, which has putting law enforcement in a difficult position.

“America-mura is known to be an area for drugs,” says a news reporter covering the society beat. “There are 20 clubs situated there, an area smaller than Shibuya, and many often receive illicit drugs, like weed, from foreigners. Pedestrians are approached out of nowhere for possible transactions.”

Dating back approximately one year, shops with signs reading “specializing in legal herbs” began to emerge. Now about 10 can be spotted in one area. With prices in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 yen per gram, most users are teenagers and those in their 20s.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare defines “legal herbs” to be tea leaves that have had chemicals similar to speed or marijuana applied. The practice started to spread through Japan about a decade ago. When inhaled, the user will hallucinate or become physically excited.

A writer from a magazine that specializes in non-fiction stories tells the tabloid, “You can easily buy the drugs online or at shops. You can even spot them in Tokyo in areas like Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro. It also seems like sales are expanding to suburban areas.”

Some are brazenly inhaling the drugs in front of police boxes, the article reports. “You cam spot regulars smoking and sitting on benches just outside a shop,” says the same society reporter.

While the pharmaceutical law prohibits inhalation, most shops sell them as they would incense. This makes it difficult for police to issue citations.

That might change.

Sales volumes and prices went up during this past August and September. “Suppliers started to unload inventories before a revised pharmaceutical law was to go effect on October 20,” the writer from the same magazine is quoted.

The revised law added six chemicals, which will force most makers of legal herbs to change ingredients. Suppliers were subsequently forced to clean out inventories.

“They also started to supply drugs containing ingredients yet to be regulated,” continues the reporter. “What is scary is that suppliers themselves are not fully familiar with these ingredients. We hope this does not result in a rash of health-related incidents due to serious side effects.” (K.N.)

Source: “Ame-mura de ‘taima modoki’ doraggu ga dairyukochu keikan no mae de wakamono ga dodo to genkaku torippu shite,” Shukan Asahi Geino (Nov. 3, page 58)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

In recent years the service has also been alleged to create false identities for foreigners lacking legal status in Japan.

Nikkan Gendai (Sep. 8) reports the first known incident of an alibi-ya being busted. According to the police, Tatsuhiro Sawada, the 64-year-old president of a construction company, and Shiori Suzuki, a 27-year-old woman with no visible means of support were arrested in Sapporo, Hokkaido on charges of fraud. Specifically, between January and April of 2010, Suzuki transferred a total of 56 million yen to Sawada’s account as settlement for the purchase of a local building.

“The two used a Tokyo-based alibi service,” says a source in the police. “They supplied Suzuki with falsified documents from a government office certifying her income was 8 million yen per year. With these, she was able to take out a loan.”

On September 6, the police undertook a search of the alibi-ya’s office in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, seeking evidence of further foul play — the Mainichi Shimbun (Sep. 8) reports that authorities arrested two employees at the firm Aribai Dottukomu — and word has since spread that this case marks the first time an alibi-ya has been busted.

“A lot of girls who’ve graduated from university but couldn’t find any employment except in the sex industry will go to an alibi-ya and ask them to falsify a certificate of employment, which they can send to their parents back in the countryside,” says “pink” journalist Yukio Murakami. “They’ll also fix the girls up with phony business cards. Some use IT companies with catchy foreign-sounding names written in katakana, or the cards might be from subsidiaries that are part of major conglomerates.”

Even if parents telephone their daughter’s office, the alibi-ya will be ready to keep up the deception, as women, trained in proper business manners, are employed to answer the phone in graciously polite Japanese and take messages.

“Typically, as soon as the call is completed, the alibi-ya office will telephone to the woman’s mobile and tell her to call home. Even if she phones from her mobile, there’s a way to fix it so the caller ID will indicate she’s phoning from a land line at her ‘office,’” Murakami adds.

With so many college grads unable to land a job these days, Nikkan Gendai remarks that alibi-ya services may be something of a necessary evil. (K.S.)

Source: “‘Aribai-ya’ to fuzokujo no kittemo kirenai kankei,” Nikkan Gendai (Sep. 8, page 4)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

“Dealing with organized crime is this year’s top priority for police forces in Japan,” said Takaharu Ando, the commissioner general of the National Police Agency, at a press conference on January 6.

A special law to eliminate boryokudan groups, as yakuza criminal syndicates are referred, originated in the Kyushu region last year and quickly spread to 27 prefectures, including Hokkaido. It is expected that similar legislation will soon be enacted in all 47 prefectures of the country.

“Tokyo aims to enact such a law this spring after it has incorporated elements of legislation already in place in other parts of the country,” added Ando. “It will likely become the most comprehensive one of them all.”

Top boryokudan groups are now organizing study sessions for top members, which includes having attorneys give monthly lectures. They are learning, for example, that not disclosing one’s real occupation upon signing a lease contract can lead to an arrest warrant for fraud.

“This is a big blow,” explains a senior-level member of a Tokyo-based boryokudan group.

The tabloid senses that boryokudan groups are indeed pushing themselves for survival, as evidenced by the extensiveness of the training materials used during the lectures. But along with these activities, local residents around the country are taking initiative. At the end of last year, a notable gangster office in Ikebukuro was removed follow action by local residents.

“The police support the residents,” says the same top-level gang member. “Even when the building is owned, not rented, by gangsters, police will pressure residents and property management associations to push for their elimination. Residents are of course hesitant because they are afraid of yakuza.”

Should boryokudan groups be left out of the picture, however, disarray of social order can result, the article believes. When yakuza groups, which will reconcile troubles, are no longer available, visible bullying starts.

A hostess working in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho entertainment district heard from her male colleague about one particular kyabakura club that didn’t pay a security fee to a yakuza gang on the third of each month, which in the business is known as mikajimeryo. “They were worried about the police, and a competitor drove them out of business,” she says.

The club, which originally opened last summer, shut this winter because foreign objects had been jammed into toilets to damage the plumbing. “When the building owner asked for compensation of around 5 million yen, the manager disappeared,” she continues. “Another club also went out of business because a dead dog was left outside its back door and girls stopped showing up to work because they were scared.”

Another example is a fire that occurred last September at a club in Nagoya, which resulted in a hostess and a male customer receiving severe burns. “The media reported that fire was due to the club not paying a security fee to the yakuza,” explains one street tout. “But rumors were circulating that the club’s competitors were behind it. That particular chain of clubs was known for not paying. Since the market is small in Nagoya, without yakuza, there can be no order.”

Club organizers are also worried. “Yakuza members are ready to take care of trouble. So if they are not around no one will follow the ‘no drugs and fights’ rule at any particular event,” explains a DJ. “If drugs are deliberately left in the bathroom area (by a competitor), knowing that the police will come in to check, the whole club will be busted. It is simply not feasible to run a club without yakuza protection.”

An investigator from a prefectural police agency responsible for yakuza activities feels short-changed. “I am frustrated by this initiative from top management,” the source says. “What is most risky is that the gangsters will become no longer visible. The relationships we’ve had with key members for exchanging information regarding organizational structures, schedules, and locations are to be no more.”

Elimination of boryokudan will actually take some matters into high risk areas, with the sale of drugs being an example.

“There is no order with regard to illicit drugs,” explains one pusher. “Without the yakuza, there will be a higher volume of low quality drugs circulating. We can only sell cheap blends to middle school kids and high school kids. But undesirable foreigners will sell to even elementary school kids.”

Secret banking and fraud, too, may get ugly without yakuza involvement. “Yakuza gangs make sure not to kill those in debt to loan sharks,” explains one underground loan broker. “But without them, it may get to a point where those involved will go after the borrowers to sell their organs or murder them for life insurance fraud. We will no longer be able to call it soft finance.”

Funding for surviving boryokudan groups will as well become more closed but not extinct. “Yakuza front company will have to be disclosed,” says one senior gang member. “But in the Kansai area yakuza money is spread wide, from bento companies to the construction industry. In Kanto, it’s from real estate to online shopping. This money is also invested in major construction companies, used by private investors, and provided to organizers of underground fighting games. They will only become more clever in terms of how they play the masquerade with their front companies.”

Organizations such as Kanto-rengo, which received media attention following last year’s drunken brawl of Ebizo Ichikawa, could take up some boryokdan activities since they are not registered as organized crime entities.

“With boryokudan groups gone,” says another investigator, “there is a concern that these entities could be the source of problems. They have some older guys who teach their younger members the tools of the trade. Vertical relationships in their hierarchy are much more loose in comparison to boryokudan groups. It could lead to chaos. Once the boryokudan groups are eliminated, they could do anything, including targeting ordinary citizens at random.”

Roppongi and Shinjuku still maintain a sense of order even with the influx of undesirable foreigners as yakuza gangs are still in control. “It is Ikebukuro that is becoming like a Chinatown,” says the same senior-level gang member first quoted in the article. “Okubo became Koreatown around it’s border. The locals are free to do whatever. With undesirable foreigners, there will be more drugs and stealing.

“Yakuza gangs have to find ways to survive,” the source continues, “so they may welcome undesirable foreigners onto their turf depending on the area.”

One may postulate that boryokudan groups are totally fading, but that is not so, the magazine concludes. “If they are being underestimated, they will use the lives of ordinary citizens to display their power. In the past, when a shooting resulted in injuries to ordinary citizens, this would be followed by arrests of yakuza members who had agreed to internally report to the police. Now that will be no longer the case.” (K.N.)

Source: “Boryokudan haijo de chian ga akka shita,” Spa! (January 25, pages 26-27)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.