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Managers of Yokohama mini-skirt restaurant busted for employing teen girls

Yumekomachi Isezakicho
Yumekomachi Isezakicho
KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of two managers of a Yokohama restaurant featuring female staff members in revealing clothing for the illegal employment of minors, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (April 11).

Satoshi Tani, 37, and Takahiro Nanno, 49, managers at Yumekomachi Isezakicho (on Twitter @yk_isesakicho), located in Naka Ward, and one other employee were taken into custody for employing girls under 18 years of age after 10 p.m., which is illegal under the Labor Standards Act, and violating the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses regarding the employment of youths.

According to police, the restaurant employed six girls aged 15 to 17 between December of last year and February.

The type of establishment is known as a “girl’s izakaya,” whereby women attired in bikinis and mini skirts serve typical restaurant dishes to customers. The concept is similar to the “girl’s bar,” which aims to replicate a hostess club experience while presenting itself as a typical drinking establishment to evade strict regulations under the adult-entertainment law.

Wages for the girls were reportedly 1,100 yen per hour. “Girls over 18 seek higher wages, such as that available at hostess clubs,” Tani is quoted as saying. “So I targeted girls under 18, and since the shop was busy, I used them late at night.”