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Tokyo police targeting the school girl ‘Holy Land’ of Takadanobaba

Honey Candle
Honey Candle
Last week, officers from the Yotsuya Police Station in Tokyo took Takahiro Arimoto, the 44-year-old manager of massage parlor Honey Candle and one other employee into custody for the harmful employment of minors, a violation under the Labor Standards Act.

The suspects are alleged to have employed a 17-year-old attired in a maid outfit to cuddle with a male customer over 50 years of age on January 4.

Located near JR Takadanobaba Station, Honey Candle is a business coming under the designation “JK,” an abbreviation for joshi kosei, or high school girls.

Over the past two years, Tokyo police have been active in raiding such establishments, primarily in the Akihabara and Ikebukuro areas. But, according to Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 23), this latest bust signals a shift in focus to Takadanobaba — the home to Waseda University that is accustomed to illicit businesses involving school girls.

“In the bygone days, Takadanobaba was once the Holy Land of burusera shops,” says “pink” writer Taizo Ebina in referring to establishments where young girls sell their used underwear. “It was a fad 20 years ago. Men were buying up the bloomers of girls like hotcakes.”

According to Ebina, street touts pulled in customers. “The number of dirty old men repeatedly visiting the area escalated quickly,” says the writer.

In cracking down on JK businesses, the target areas of the Tokyo police had primarily included the Akihabara and Ikebukuro areas.

But now law enforcement is watching Takadanobaba. In October, police raided a parlor in which the customers could take in the aroma of the young masseuses.

During the bust of Honey Candle, police also took the 17-year-old girl and two other employees, both 18, into protective custody, a policy that was implemented in January.

Takahiro Arimoto
Takahiro Arimoto
JK businesses are coming under increased police scrutiny due to the intimate contact often afforded by the female attendants. The list of services often includes massages, strolls and nap sessions.

At Honey Candle, girls attired in special costumes and uniforms administered the services.

“They had 40 girls registered on their books,” an investigator tells Nikkan Gendai. “Of them, 20 were school girls. Ear cleaning and slaps to the face were supplied for 1,000 yen a pop.”

According to Ebina, the opportunity to have such intimate contact with a school girl — generally not a possibility at a burusera shop — is what is driving demand.

“These eccentric menu items are what is capturing the interest of dirty old men,” says Ebina (K.N.)

Source: “Mata tekihatsu sa reta ‘JK rifure’ Takadanobaba ga seichi ni natte ita,” Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 23)