With the passage of a new ordinance regulating underage schoolgirl dating services in the capital, there is fear the change will simply push such operations further underground, where illicit sexual activities will continue unseen.

Tokyo's new ordinance, which took force on Saturday, prohibits girls 17 and younger from working in the "JK business," which thrives on the use of joshi kosei, the Japanese term for high school girls.

But the problem needs a broader solution because business is seemingly booming on the internet, where an abundance of websites offer services from high school girls advertised with sexually implicit euphemisms.