It's almost time to declare taxes in Japan, so we were particularly amused by this story in the news. Tokyo Taxation Bureau has announced the punishment of a 27-year-old female employee at one of its branches for breaching its rules on civil servants having side jobs.
The nature of the side job probably didn't help.
The unnamed woman was actually working at a soapland as a sex worker. For her troubles, she has been handed down a nine-month suspension, the bureau announced at the end of January.
She was working at soaplands from October 2020 to January 2022 at weekday nights and on days ...
It's probably Tokyo's most famous and futuristic pieces of architecture: the Nakagin Capsule Tower.
Despite its repute, it's an endangered species: demolition of the Metabolist landmark has been scheduled for a long time.
People have continued to reside in the pod-like pied-à-terre living units or use them as office spaces. Or for other uses, it seems.
We had never heard of this before but it seems that certain capsule rooms in Nakagin were used by prostitutes to service customers.
In Tokyo, a brothel-style fuzoku service typically has its own little place with basic facilities. ...
Around the end of December, people started tweeted about a "worrying" new development in Akihabara, the Tokyo district known for electronics and otaku culture.
The restaurant Kitchen Jiro has been replaced by a "free guidance place" (muryo annaijo) -- essentially a sex industry information center, where you can get introductions on nearby soaplands, massage parlors, and other types of brothels. Such modestly sized places are common in areas like Kabukicho or Ikebukuro in Tokyo, Namba in Osaka, or just about any downtown area in a major Japanese city.
Does this, as people seem convinced, ...
These days, we aren't going out much, but we might be persuaded to make an exception here.
Tokyo Weekender published a photo report on the recently opened SOD Land, which is publicized as a porn theme park.
As previously reported, the complex opened in the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku in central Tokyo back in October, and features five floors devoted to adult video.
Tokyo Weekender's report emphasizes the "safety" aspect of the visit, in how the site has adapted to the risk of the coronavirus through face masks, disinfecting visitors from head to foot, and a special UV filter in the ...
Top Japanese porn producer Soft on Demand has opened its mini theme park complex in Kabukicho, Tokyo, which, despite recent gentrification, remains one of the centers of the adult and sex industry.
As previously reported, SOD Land is five floors devoted to porn. Visitors can get food and drink served by actual adult video stars or sex workers in several different types of establishments.
Here are some pictures from when the site opened to the public on October 10. People were lining to get in, despite the pre-typhoon rainy weather.
The "silent bar" on the top floor is the ...
The Japanese government has stepped in with cash handouts for both citizens and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to offset the worst effects of the economic fallout. Offering a maximum of ¥2 million in a one-off lump sum to help pay rent, the money has been a lifeline for small companies like shops and restaurants.
But what about the sex industry? So far, operators of such services have been excluded from the relief program.
One woman has taken matters into her own hands, filing a lawsuit against the Japanese national government as well as two firms overseeing the ...
The Weekly Playboy bar in Kabukicho was a big success back in 2017. We were reminded of it -- and how few chances there are to encounter the adult industry in a bricks-and-mortar setting other than just a shop in the likes of Akihabara -- when we read the exciting news that top Japanese porn production and distribution company Soft on Demand is opening what is essentially a sex theme park in Tokyo.
Ostensibly, the building will host restaurants and bars staffed by genuine porn performers, following the precedent established by Weekly Playboy's bar, where real gravure idols served ...
At a point when the sex industry in Japan is under economic and social pressure -- demonized by politicians and the media for spreading the coronavirus, deserted by customers -- comes a timely reminder of the "healing" and affective nature of sex work, and its curious status in society.
Recently reviewed in the Japan Times, Gabriele Koch's book Healing Labor: Japanese Sex Work in the Gendered Economy (2020, Stanford University Press) argues that Japanese sex workers regard their work as necessary to the social and economic well-being of society.
The book is the result of nearly two years of ...
As previously discussed on this blog before, hostesses and hosts have received much of the blame for the spread of the coronavirus in Japan, especially in Tokyo.
The nightlife scene, particularly the seedier side in areas like Kabukicho, has found itself demonized by the authorities and media as the most obvious source of infection clusters.
While we don't doubt that intimate encounters with prostitutes or long sessions in small hostess club booths does increase the risk of infection, we are very suspicious of the narrative that the media is pushing.
Indeed, this week Tokyo announced 55 ...
With much of Japan on semi-lockdown (or at least, slowdown) due to measures to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, freelancers and the self-employed are particularly feeling the crunch.
This naturally includes prostitutes of various types (soaplands, call girls, etc.). Though some delivery health services are trying to cash in on the crisis with coronavirus-themed marketing, we expect most fuzoku establishments are closed or running reduced hours right now. Naturally, accurate numbers of these are hard to come by, though we did read an interview with a sex worker at an Ikebukuro ...
