TOKYO (TR) – The National Police Agency revealed on Thursday that an investigation found that the majority of illicit parlors that are feared to be a hotbed of child prostitution are located in Tokyo and Osaka, reports the Nikkei Shimbun (Sept. 28).
According to the NPA, there are 114 so-called “JK” (joshi kosei) school girl businesses across the nation, with 78 located in Tokyo and 28 in Osaka. Aichi and Miyagi prefectures each have three. Meanwhile, there is one parlor in both Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.
The establishments promote the supply of massages but many have been known to provide sexual services by allowing customers to take the female employees off the premises.
According to the NPA, 80 of the parlors surveyed promote “body touching” — including the provision of massages or the opportunity to sleep next to a female employee — while 11 others boast the chance for customers to view the employees through a one-way mirror.
Crackdown
Police have been cracking down on JK businesses this year. Between January and June, police in Osaka and Tokyo made 13 raids that resulted in 17 arrests of managers and customers.
The result has been a drop in the number of such businesses in Tokyo. There were 190 parlors in the capital prior to a sweep conducted in April.
A Tokyo ordinance, which took effect on July 1, restricts the employment of persons under the age of 18 in certain service businesses. The ordinance was the first of its kind to be enacted across the nation.
In conducting the survey, police only found five parlors that were employing girls under the age of 18. Police believe the majority of the parlors employ girls over 18 in order to evade busts.
