Have you ever thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if I had the knowledge to run a financially successful sex club?”
Then step right up — class is in session!
On December 1, Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 27) was on hand for the “Sex Business Management Seminar,” a short course that promised to teach students how operate a profitable business in the fuzoku trade.
Sponsored by a drug company in Asia that sells adult products, the short course expected a turnout of 50 people, but a total of 70 male and female students (aged in their 30s and 40s) arrived at a meeting room in Tokyo’s Gotanda area to view Power Point presentations by experts in the field on such topics as how to operate within the bounds of the law and the process for finding a suitable building.
Step one, the opening. In complying with police regulations, the proper procedures must be followed with the public safety commission, including how to fill out the documentation, which entails, for example, designating whether an operation is a “delivery health” out-call sex service utilizing hotel rooms or a bricks and mortar shop.
Wording for the description of the business can be crucial. The use of “massage” — at least, when blow- and hand-jobs are on offer — is not recommended when it comes to dealing with law enforcement. “Since ‘rejuvenation massage’ falls into a gray zone (as far as legality),” said one lecturer, “it is preferable to use ‘rejuvenation reflexology’ or ‘men’s treatment’ as a replacement.”
Fuzoku consultant Kaorin Mizushima (@kaorinmizushima) discussed what documents are necessary for registering an Internet domain and setting up a Web site.
Subtleties can be important. At an SM club, for example, the proper use of honorifics, such as sama, meaning Mr. or Mrs., with a first-time customer during a phone conversation may seem trivial but impart a positive message as to what the establishment is about.
The stakes for the industry could be high. Tokyo will host the Olympic Games in 2020. In the lead up to the event, the metropolis will be flooded with workers tasked with assembling the various arenas and stadiums.
Yet anxiety lingers. In April, the consumption tax will be hiked from five to eight percent, which Nikkan Gendai says will assuredly add to the already intense competition on pricing. The tabloid cites a delivery health operation in Osaka priced at a mere 6,000 yen (including the love hotel fee) for the first 60 minutes.
Mizushima, the Fuzoku consultant, ran through an example that estimated the cost to open a delivery health operation. Including a deposit and rent for office space (500,000 yen), the setting up and managing a Web site (500,000 yen), advertising (300,000 yen), office equipment (500,000 yen) and working capital (3.6 million yen), she estimates an outlay of 5.4 million yen is necessary.
Indeed a sizable sum, but the returns can be handsome. A staff of five women charging 18,000 yen for the first 60 minutes would generate three million yen each month in revenue for the shop, assuming a commission of 8,000 yen per customer. When expenses are subtracted, Mizushima believes one million yen will remain for the owner. (A.T.)
Source: “Gesshu 110manen mo kano!? ‘fuzoku keiei seminaa’ ni sennyu ki,” Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 27, page 7)
