Tokyo police said Wednesday that this year they had arrested 140 women for alleged prostitution in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho entertainment district, nearly triple the figure from last year.
Some 43% of those arrested from the start of the year through Tuesday said they went into prostitution to pay for host services and so-called underground male idols. About 80% were in their 20s, while three were age 19 or younger.
“I have been going to (a host club) every day where a host I met on social media works," said a woman in her 20s who was among those arrested, adding that she had loans that needed to be repaid.