Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tokyo cops bust 3 more Kabukicho hostess clubs over overcharging

Ruchiru
Ruchiru
TOKYO (TR) – As a part of an ongoing crackdown, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday announced the bust of three clubs in Shinjuku Ward for overcharging customers, reports TBS News (June 25).

In one case, which took place on an evening last month, Ryosuke Kanai, a 27-year-old employee of hostess club Ruchiru, demanded 170,000 yen from a pair of male university students after 30 minutes of service. The victims had previously agreed to a rate of 3,000 yen per hour.

For the three clubs, police made a total of four arrests. Kanai, who has been charged with violating a metropolitan ordinance that prohibits bottakuri, or overcharging, has denied the allegations.

The cases come amid a surge in customers being overcharged by clubs. On Wednesday night, members of the ward and volunteers patrolled the red-light district to issue warnings about disreputable establishments, according to Jiji Press (June 25).

Between January and April, police received approximately 1,052 complaints of bottakuri taking place at hostess clubs in Kabukicho. The figure is 10 times larger than that of one year ago.