TOKYO (TR) – As a part of an ongoing crackdown on malicious hostess clubs, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Friday announced the bust of an establishment in Shinjuku Ward for threatening customers into paying a large bill, reports TBS News (May 29).
In March, Yoshihiko Okumura, the 36-year-old manager at club Lumine, located in the Kabukicho entertainment area, and one other staff member are alleged to have told two male customers that they were not permitted to leave the premises until they paid a bill of 240,000 yen.
Okumura, who has been charged with issuing threats, has reportedly denied the allegations.
Since Lumine opened in February, police have received 214 complaints from customers who patronized the club.
Last Friday, metropolitan police announced an intensification of patrols to combat an increase in clubs overcharging customers.
Between January and April, police received approximately 1,000 complaints of bottakuri, or overcharging, at hostess clubs in Kabukicho. The figure is 10 times larger than that of one year ago.