TOKYO (TR) – A Ministry of Justice expert panel has proposed establishing legal penalties for the “buyers” of prostitution, addressing a long-standing loophole in Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law that currently only punishes the women selling sex, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 18).
In Tokyo’s bustling Kabukicho nightlife district in Shinjuku Ward, the practice of young women standing on the streets waiting for customers — known locally as kyakumachi — has become a highly visible issue. Reporters on the scene observed solitary young women routinely approached by men on the street before disappearing together into nearby love hotels.
Under the current Anti-Prostitution Law, it is illegal for the “seller” to solicit or wait for customers on the street, but there are no provisions to punish the men who approach them to buy sex.
On Thursday, following parliamentary debates over this legal disparity, a Ministry of Justice panel compiled a report recommending that penalties finally be established for customers who solicit women on the street.
Deadbeat boyfriend
One 19-year-old woman standing in Kabukicho told reporters she services three to four men a day, sometimes raking in over 2 million yen a month. She revealed that she was coerced into the illicit trade by a deadbeat boyfriend.
“He was unemployed, essentially a freeloader,” she said. “I really loved him, but he suddenly pushed me away and said, ‘If you don’t sell your body, we’re breaking up.’ So I started doing it.”
Despite knowing the risks of arrest, she continues to stand on the street. “I’m saving up money for moving expenses and plastic surgery. Once you know how much you can earn, you end up relying on it,” she confessed.
“Just asking”
When reporters confronted a man in his 20s who was seen approaching women, he admitted he was negotiating. “I was just asking how much they charge,” he said.
When asked about the impending legal changes targeting buyers, the man admitted the threat of arrest would change his habits. “I think it would be better to just go to a legal establishment. Considering the risks, I’d rather go somewhere proper than get caught.”
However, those working on the streets remain skeptical that criminalizing the buyers will eradicate the illicit trade.
“Even after the regulations are tightened, I think men will still come,” one streetwalker noted. “The activity will just move to places out of plain sight.”
The Ministry of Justice is expected to move forward with drafting amendments to the Anti-Prostitution Law based on the panel’s findings.
