A National Police Agency panel met for the first time July 15 to study ways to regulate dating clubs, adult video home delivery services and other activities that are not currently covered by the adult entertainment business law.
The panel plans to meet several times a month and compile a proposal for a revision of the law by the end of this year. If revised, it will be the first change to the law since 1984.
According to the NPA, dating clubs and sex-related massage services have emerged in recent years that do not have business outlets but instead make appointments over the telephone to serve clients at their homes. Without such outlets, police are unable to crack down on these businesses under the current law, the agency said.
These businesses post advertisements featuring explicit nudity in public phone booths, NPA officials said, adding that such pornography is also prevalent among adult home pages on the Internet. And while these materials are easily accessible to minors, such practices are unregulated under current law, they said.
The panel also plans to take up measures to protect foreign women who are forced to work at bars or engage in prostitution to pay off debts. It is also considering the removal of current restrictions on dance clubs under the adult entertainment business law. The panel consists of nine scholars and journalists, including Kuniko Inoguchi, a professor at Sophia University, and is chaired by Yoriaki Narita, a professor emeritus at Yokohama National University.