Roppongi maid cafes employing teenagers… No one is surprised!

Tokyo Reporter had an intriguing (if worrying) article recently from the Japanese media about a maid cafe in Roppongi being raided for employing underage girls.

Officers took Ryuji Shimizu, 41, the manager of Archangels Tokyo, into custody for allegedly employing a 16-year-old girl as a waitress after 10 p.m. — a violation of the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses.

The girl, who was attired in a light kimono known as a yukata, received an hourly wage of 1,050 yen per hour.

This reminds us of the recent girls’ bar scandal in Osaka and it seems police are now cracking down on Roppongi.

We all want our maids to be young-looking, but how young is too young? Obviously there are laws about youth labor and it is especially sensitive in a place like a maid cafe, which is sexualized even if it is not actually offering any sex.

Most maid cafes employ teenagers and they are usually baito — part-time workers — and many people visit the cafes during the day, so probably don’t think anything of it. But next time, take a closer look. Is that girl 18? Or 16?