Police arrest Burlesque Tokyo manager over licensing violation

While we are used to police raids on small or even clandestine bars and clubs for breaching rules on public indecency or licensing, it was a shock when the failure to obtain the proper license led to the arrests last year of management at SOD Land in Kabukicho and the expensive closure of the “porn theme park” for five months. (Thankfully, it is up and running again, and in very rude health from all accounts!)

Well, now the same kind of issue has claimed yet another high-profile victim.

Police have arrested the manager of Burlesque Tokyo, a popular burlesque club in Roppongi.

The erotic show club (known as a “show pub” in Japan), which attracts a lot of tourists, was allegedly operating outside the terms of its license.

Specifically, Burlesque Tokyo only had a show club permit, so people could perform for patrons, but members of staff were not allowed to serve as hosts or hostesses (which requires an “adult entertainment” license).

The distinction, as helpfully explained by Mulboyne on Twitter, might be so simple as whether the staff are serving customers behind a bar or sitting next to them at their table like at a hostess club.

In this case, because dancers serve customers from the stage, and because patrons are able to tip dancers, the club might be in breach of its license.

The manager, 51-year-old Ryota Naito, is accused operating a business in Nagoya without the correct license for serving customers.

Aichi police rearrested Naito on February 21, having realized he was operating a club in the city without a license. He was first arrested at the end of January over another similar case in Nagoya, having come under suspicion in November.

Naito has admitted to the charges.

Burlesque Tokyo’s fate is uncertain. There are now suspicions that the Tokyo club, which employs some 90 dancers, has also been operating without the correct license. The club, though, has announced that it will stay open and take care to remain within the limits of its license, having received legal advice that it is can continue to operate under its current permit as a show club.

Naito has a history of run-ins with the law. He was previously charged with tax evasion in 2016.