Japan, recognized in the world for its ancient culture, its safety and its technological advances, lives An unprecedented tourist boom: almost three and a half million international visitors per month. But behind the records an awkward shadow hides: The increase in sex tourisma phenomenon that threatens to stain the image of a country that has invested decades and billions of yen in events —like the Olympic Games or the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which is still being held— to project as a reference for modernity, respect and harmony.
A recent report by the International Organization for Migration (IIM) warns that Japan has become In emerging destination for sex tourism. The combination of security, infrastructure and easy access to adult services has promoted business proliferation fuzoku —adult entertainment premises— that operate in A legal gray area. Prostitution is prohibited, but sexual services are offered undercover. In cities like Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka, these establishments have multiplied with a growing foreign clientele.
Kabukichoin the middle of Shinjuku tokya neighborhoodit is the epicenter of this industry. In recent months, the police have dismantled networks that They captured young girls indebted with nightclubs to force them to prostitute themselves. There have also been arrests in massage premises offered by women to foreign tourists. In some operations they confiscated currencies from more than 16 countriesa clear sign of the international business magnitude.
One of the cases that has caused the most controversial in recent weeks has been the arrest in the Four Okubo Park Tachinbo (street prostitutes) about 20 years accused of cheating foreign men. He mode of operation of women, according to the Japanese police, consisted of agreeing in the same park with the client a price for sexual services —generally about 10,000 (57 euros) or 20,000 yen (115 euros) for service— and go to a love hotela hotel for hours, near. Once in the hotel room, the women claimed that amount and, in some carelessness of the client, They took the opportunity to escape the room with money.
According to the Security Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, these last summer weeks 11 cases of foreigners were reported that being in this situation went to denounce the robbery koban —Small police office – closer. In addition, according to the same sources, during the same period there were A case increase report on “portfolio robberies” of potential customers both in the immediate vicinity of the Okubo Park and in hotels for the next hours. One of these four girls, precisely, was arrested again a few days ago accused of this same crime.
“When they arrested me, I was not prostituting me,” explains one of the Tachinbo to El Español at the headquarters of a close NGO of help to these girls who want to leave this vicious circle. “I think (the police) chose me as a warning for the media to record my detention,” explains this young woman who does not want to give her name. “Finally, the police told me that I was not doing anything serious and They released me after 48 hours“, explains ensuring that the most difficult was not being able to use his smartphone.
This 25 -year -old admits that he was not surprised by the arrest in itself: “Yes, I exercise prostitution and I know it is a crime so I thought that It was natural that they arrested me But I never committed any fraud or any robbery, “he says very sure of herself.” There are other girls who commit fraud and robberies, but I am not like that, “he says saying that life is very good to commit small thefts.
“In the three years since I began to prostitute myself I have gained almost 100 million yen (more than 575,000 euros),” he says, “although now I only have about 200,000 yen (about 1,150 euros), since everything I earned, spent it.” After his arrest, Life has completely turned: “When I learned that my name and my face had become public, I decided to stop prostituting me,” although he says he knows the difficulty of all this. “Now that my face and my real name are in the public domain, I feel that I will never get a job interview. I really want a decent job in a coffee or something,” he admits without too much conviction.
“Now I help an NGO that supports girls who prostitute themselves in Okubo; I talk to the girls who are there and listen to their stories, but that only gives me 3,000 yen a day. So I’m still dating the rich men with whom I have had contact so far,” he acknowledges. “They say that rumors last 75 days, so I think I just have to wait a little longer for everything to calm.”
The young woman explains that it comes from A complicated family environment In a prefecture not far away from Tokyo, being the youngest of four brothers, each with different parents. Since childhood it was instilled that only basic education should complete and then look for work after high school. “I managed to reach high school, but my parents did not support financial activities or school materials,” he says. “While studying, I combined several part -time jobs for the afternoons and nights, and eventually I began to maintain remunerated relationships with men to cover my expenses,” he acknowledges.
After finishing high school, he explains that he worked for a few months in a nursery. “I wanted to continue studying, but my parents wanted them to choose practical careers such as cooking or child care, and having no right to scholarships, I gave up. My desire was to get away from the restrictive family environment, so I started working secretly in a nightclub and accompaniments (escorting) “.” When I could save a little, I left the job in the nursery and subsequently alternated between coffees, nightclubs and escortingand when I met a special client, I began to invest in him and one thing led to the other, “he finally reveals.
The experts consulted warn that the increase in sex tourism Not only does it affect women involved but threatens to erode the international image of Japan in full tourist effervescence. Local NGOs denounce the lack of public resources to support young women trying to get out of prostitution and criticize that police raids have more an exemplary effect than the real protection of the tourist. “Tourism has brought wealthbut it has also amplified inequalities and exploitation, “summarizes an activist in the same Okubo park.
Thus, while Japan celebrates record figures of visitors and prepares to host large international events, its capital and the great cities of the country deal with an uncomfortable phenomenon that grows in parallel: an increasingly exposed sex industry and a social pressure that continues to look the other way. The country sold to the world as safe, clean and tidy It faces a dilemma that threatens to become the dark back of its tourist success.