Court orders former sex worker to pay compensation to wife of client

Does regular sex with a prostitute count as adultery? It’s not just a moral question, but a legal one, because it could be grounds for divorce and a lawsuit, since an aggrieved spouse can sue the lover in Japan for damages if it can be proved they knew the man or woman was married.

FNN recently reported on a father of four married for 24 years who had a secret. He was secretly meeting a woman he met at a brothel at a love hotel once a month, paying her ¥30,000 each time. Upon learning of his betrayal, his wife directed her anger at the other woman, and sued her for ¥3.3 million.

All three parties — the husband, wife, and lover — are in their mid-forties. Of the four children, three are already adults.

The lover had worked as a call girl at a delivery health (outcall) service in Tokyo that the husband had used in 2019. After the service closed in early 2020, the two continued to communicate and engage in sexual activities, meeting at love hotels in the Tokyo region once a month for four years.

In addition to paying her ¥30,000 per session, the husband also paid the former prostitute’s travel expenses, gave her extra money for her birthday, paid money to help with the upkeep of her daughter, and even helped her buy a car.

The wife learned about the relationship in May 2024 and sent a damages claim to the lover in June via an attorney. She later sent another letter demanding that the relationship end, which it did in September.

The husband apologized to his wife and they agreed to repair their marriage. However, the wife proceeded with a lawsuit, seeking ¥3.3 million (including lawyer’s fees) from the woman for infidelity.

The woman argued that it was just a business relationship and that she did not know the man was married.

In 2015, a judge ruled that having sex with a hostess counted as prostitution, but because it was makura eigo (sleeping with a client for business reasons), it was not adultery.

However, in this case, Tokyo District Court ruled that tort was established, and thus the wife had a claim, because the relationship between the man and the former prostitute went beyond a merely transactional one, and also did not believe that she had no knowledge of his marriage, given the amount of time they had spent together, during which the man surely discussed his marriage and children with her.

In November 2025, the court ordered the woman to pay ¥1 million to the wife in compensation, plus ¥100,000 in legal fees.

If there is any lesson in this, it’s to keep things strictly business!