TOKYO (TR) – A Ministry of Justice expert panel has proposed making it a punishable offense for customers to solicit prostitution, a move welcomed by local officials battling a surge of foreign sex tourists in Shinjuku Ward’s Kabukicho red-light district, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 25).
According to the draft report released on August 24, the new measures would target the “buyers” in illicit sex trades. Officials in Shinjuku Ward have heavily advocated for the change, citing an urgent need for effective countermeasures against a growing influx of foreigners visiting the area specifically to purchase sex.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the streets surrounding Kabukicho’s Okubo Park have become notorious for women standing and waiting for customers. The phenomenon has been broadcast globally across social media, drawing a wave of foreign nationals seeking to buy sex or simply spectate. Officials note that the language barrier between the women and foreign tourists has frequently led to financial disputes and trouble on the streets.
“Greater deterrence”
Tokyo Metropolitan Police reported that 112 women were arrested in flagrante delicto around the park last year for violating the Anti-Prostitution Law by waiting for customers. While an intensive police crackdown last August temporarily cleared the park’s immediate perimeter, the illicit activity merely migrated, with women now frequently seen waiting for customers in the adjacent love hotel district.
Fed up with what they describe as a severe deterioration of public morals, local residents and Shinjuku Ward officials have launched joint patrols. Authorities are now blaring warnings through loudspeakers in both Japanese and English, stating: “Buying sex is prohibited by law.”
Hideyuki Asami, deputy counselor of the ward’s crisis management division, presented the grim reality of the streets to the expert panel during a hearing in July.
“Even with the measures we have taken, it hasn’t led to a fundamental solution,” Asami told reporters. “We are hoping for a response with greater deterrence and effectiveness, including the penalization of solicitation by the buying side.”
Acknowledging the underlying social issues, Asami noted that many of the women standing on the streets are driven by severe economic hardship. “We want to collaborate with relevant agencies to connect them with welfare support,” he added.
