TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male host in the Kabukicho red-light district who is suspected of using a dating app to lure women to his club, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Jan. 30).
According to police, this is the first time that a host has been charged with using a dating app to illegally recruit customers to his club.
In May and July 2025, Takuto Takeoka, 27, allegedly contacted two women, aged 27 and 28, on the dating app Pairs and concealed his identity as a host by claiming to be “an IT worker.”
When the suspect met the victims in person, he allegedly lured them into his club Axel by Acqua. He told one of them, “I’m working as a host on the side. Come on, I want you to know everything about me.”
Upon his arrest on suspicion of violating the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses regarding soliciting, Takeoka remained silent.
“Just looking for a boyfriend”
During their visits to the club, the two women ran up massive bills. To pay, they used their savings and took out loans from consumer finance companies. They subsequently paid 1.81 million yen and 6 million yen, respectively.
The woman who paid 6 million yen told TBS News (Jan. 30) that she had been “tricked.” She said, “The day we met, he told me, ‘I love you. I want you to be my girlfriend.’ I was just looking for a boyfriend, but in the end, he took advantage of my romantic feelings.”
According to police, Takeoka joined the club in October 2024. The suspect made approximately 140 million yen in sales last year, which was 30 percent of the club’s total.
As part of its measures against unscrupulous host clubs that force female customers to pay unreasonably high fees, the National Police Agency issued operational guidelines in October 2025 stating that asking a woman approached on a dating app to visit a club without disclosing the purpose of the solicitation could constitute “soliciting,” which is prohibited under the Entertainment and Amusement Act.
As well, the revised adult-entertainment law, which came into effect in June 2025, restricts a “romance business” that exploits customers’ romantic feelings.
Tokyo police are investigating the club’s involvement and the possibility that the suspect has repeatedly used similar methods to solicit customers.
