National / History Nov 16, 2021
'Ugly history': The battle to restore an iconic brothel building in Osaka
by Harumi Ozawa
Experts say the wooden two-story structure is a rare original example of architecture from the Taisho Era.
Books Jul 4, 2020
‘Healing Labor’: Examining how Japanese sex work is woven into culture and economy
by Nicolas Gattig
Gabriele Koch’s “Healing Labor” delves into how Japanese sex workers regard their work as necessary to the social and economic well-being of Japanese society.
National / Crime & Legal Feb 28, 2019
Police took action against 40 people for human trafficking offenses including forced prostitution last year, up by 10 from a year earlier, official data showed Thursday. The 40 suspects included those involved with crime syndicates and in the adult entertainment business. The number of human trafficking ...
Commentary / World Nov 23, 2016
Should the world's oldest profession be legal?
by Peter Singer
As Amnesty Interational has pointed out, criminalizing the sex industry does far more harm than good.
National / Social Issues Aug 17, 2016
Sex trade a shaky safety net for Japan's working-poor women
by Tomohiro Osaki
For the past six years, 47-year-old single mother Kasumi Endo has lived a double life. On weekdays, she works all day as a temp-staff office worker to raise her teenage daughter. But with wages hardly sufficient to keep the household afloat, Endo (not her real ...
National / Social Issues Aug 17, 2016
Tokyo exhibition focuses on plight of sexually exploited girls
by Tomohiro Osaki
In Japan, teenage girls who turn to prostitution do so because they want to make easy money or fulfill their own pleasures. Or not really. Contrary to popular stereotypes, "few girls I've seen began prostituting themselves light-heartedly or to earn easy money," said Yumeno Nito, a ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 8, 2016
A Thai woman and a Chinese female operator of a sex parlor in Tokyo have been arrested for allegedly arranging for another Thai woman overstaying in Japan to provide sexual services, police said Friday. Onuma Phitchapha, 35, and Yu Xiaomei, the 43-year-old sex parlor operator, ...
World Feb 23, 2013
Keep it clean: World watches Iceland lead the way toward ban on Web porn
by Tracy Mcveigh
Small, volcanic, with a proud Viking heritage and run by an openly gay prime minister, Iceland is now considering becoming the first democracy in the Western world to try to ban online pornography. A nationwide consultation has found wide support for the move from police ...
Reference | EXPLAINER May 27, 2008
Law bends over backward to allow 'fuzoku'
by Jun Hongo
Some desires money can't gratify, but for appetites of the flesh, there are ways in Japan to legally sate one's carnal cravings. Like many countries, prostitution is illegal in Japan, at least on paper. Brothel-like "soapland" and sexual massage parlors get around these barriers. And the ...