National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 1, 2020
Kabukicho host clubs under fire for spreading coronavirus
by Mark Schreiber
Some media outlets are weighing the pros and cons of mounting an actual "blockade" of Tokyo's well-known entertainment district.
Business Apr 12, 2020
Japan's nightlife entertainers head to cyberspace to dodge virus, host clients online
by Masumi Koizumi
Hosts and hostesses in Japan's famous nightlife industry are turning to remote entertainment sessions as the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to create a safer environment to survive the public safety crisis. YouTuber Reiko Naka, who has about 10,000 subscribers, announced the official opening of her ...
National / Crime & Legal May 29, 2019
Parents of Osaka nightclub worker who died from chugging alcohol granted workers' benefits
The parents of a man in the nighttime entertainment industry who died after chugging alcoholic drinks at work in 2012 were granted workers' benefits Wednesday in the first such court ruling in Japan. Yuya Tanaka, who worked at a host club, died at age 21 ...
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Nov 17, 2018
Flamboyant 'host club king' Takeshi Aida given an extravagant sendoff
by Mark Schreiber
An extravagant wake and funeral was held earlier this month in memory of host club Ai Honten's flamboyant founder, Takeshi Aida, who passed away on Oct. 25 at the age of 78 after a prolonged illness. "At the request of the deceased, in addition to ...
National Apr 5, 2014
Host clubs: a hotbed of human trafficking
by Jake Adelstein
The Japanese host. You can see them on the streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho: the dapper thin men with colored, blown-dry hair, fake suntans, snazzy suits and charming smiles, chatting up passing females and trying to get them to come and have drinks. They've been ...