TOKYO (TR) – On a typical weekday afternoon, while mothers stroll with their children and elderly couples shop, a young female corporate worker is quietly running a highly lucrative — and illicit — business out of multi-purpose toilets at commercial facilities.
Employed at a foreign-affiliated company, the woman in her late 20s, operating under the pseudonym “Miki,” has no debt and no pressing need for cash. Yet, she uses her spare time to sell her body, earning up to 1 million yen a month. Her motivation? Cold efficiency and a lingering sense of loneliness.
Rumors recently circulated on online dating sites about a corporate worker recruiting clients for quick sexual encounters in public restrooms, allegedly claiming she simply “loved sex too much.” To uncover the truth, an undercover journalist for weekly tabloid Spa! (June 16) arranged a meeting with her.
“Keep your voice down”
The rendezvous was set for 2:00 p.m. at a multi-purpose toilet in a commercial complex near a major Tokyo station. Just minutes after the designated time, the door opened. Miki, dressed neatly though not in a suit, ushered the reporter inside, immediately locking the door and whispering, “Keep your voice down.”
Fearful of being overheard by shoppers just on the other side of the wall, she demanded payment upfront. As soon as the cash was handed over, she brazenly reached for the reporter’s zipper.
When the reporter pulled back and revealed his identity, Miki remained completely unfazed.
“I got the money, so I don’t mind an interview, but I have another reservation, so I’m leaving when my time is up,” she stated flatly. She even attempted to up-sell the journalist: “That money was an interview expense, right? If you pay another 10,000 yen out of your own pocket, we can go all the way with the few minutes we have left.”
“Finish quickly and leave”
Miki later agreed to a phone interview — but only after charging an hourly rate equivalent to her prostitution earnings.
Contrary to the online rumors portraying her as purely sex-obsessed, Miki operates with the ruthless efficiency of a corporate executive.
“The best clients are the ones who finish quickly and leave. If someone takes 20 minutes, I feel like it’s a waste of time,” she said. “I know I think of it as ‘time is money.’ Working for 2,000 yen an hour versus getting 10,000 yen for five minutes of sex — the sex has a overwhelmingly better time-performance.”
Miki began using dating sites five or six years ago for pocket money, but her side hustle accelerated during the pandemic due to flexible working hours. At her peak, she was seeing three men an hour, easily clearing 1 million yen a month. Rather than squandering her illicit earnings on a flashy lifestyle, Miki uses the funds to invest in real estate, a strategy she learned from one of her clients.
Corporate safety net
Despite her massive side income, Miki has no intention of quitting her day job. Her salary is average for her age, but she values the corporate safety net.
“I hate the idea of an unstable status,” she explains to the magazine. “You need a regular job for social insurance, getting credit cards, or buying a house. You never know when dating sites might disappear, so the security of being a full-time employee is a major risk hedge.”
While she claims to view sex work as a purely rational way to build assets, a darker psychological element lurks beneath her cold logic. Miki admits that deep-seated insecurities drive her to seek out multiple partners.
“Even when I had a boyfriend, I kept using the sites. I loved him, but I was always anxious he might cheat on me,” she confesses. “So, I slept with other men to reassure myself that I had other places to belong.”
She says she doesn’t have a strong sense of independence.
“I look for places where I can be pampered and relied upon,” she goes on. “That usually ends up being with men. Continuing this might just be because I get lonely easily.”
