On June 17, the Security Division of the Tokyo Police announced the arrest of 23 men, including the shop managers of three shops in Tokyo, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law for soliciting female employees to engage in prostitution with their customers. The arrests are said to be the largest ever made in Tokyo in a round-up of prostitution prevention law violations.
In April to May 2024, eight female employees were allegedly sent to hotels in Tokyo to meet male customers and offer them prostitution. Eleven of them admitted to the charges, while 12 denied saying that the girls did it on their own.
According to the police, the group is believed to have been operating three outcall sex shops in Shinagawa and Minato wards in Tokyo, since at least 2021, with annual sales of over 1 billion yen.
During a crackdown on customer-waiting behavior in and around Okubo Park in Kabukicho, Tokyo, women’s testimonies revealed that prostitution was conducted in this group’s shops.
