For the most part in Japan, prostitution is not visible.
Sure, if you can understand the euphemism and codes in the signage, you can see fuzoku brothels everywhere, normally in the form of places where you can go for "introductions" to sex workers.
But though call girls are visible entering and leaving love hotels, or you might seem female escorts waiting for a car or sitting in a vehicle outside a love hotel, it's relatively rare to see streetwalkers in Tokyo -- as in, actual prostitutes hanging around outside and trying to pick up clients (known as tachinbo in Japanese).
There are ...
Here at Tokyo Kinky, we pride ourselves on how we strive to keep up with the latest research and fieldwork. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.
And so when we see an academic article titled "Exploring sexual contact networks by analyzing a nationwide commercial-sex review website," it's a no-brainer whether or not we read. Even if it's written by ecologists.
Though framed in academese, the article is essentially looking at reviews for soaplands on a website that covers 66% of establishments in Japan (784 soaplands) and has more than 2 million members and information on 38,964 sex ...
In March, we wrote about the former Self-Defense Force nurse and sex worker running for election for a local assembly in Tokyo this month.
Hasumin Yoshikawa has promised to debut in porn after the poll, whether she wins a seat or not.
Well, her party, the anti-NHK fringe right-wing populist Politician Girls 48 Party (aka Political Party Girls 48), has become mired in in-fighting among its leadership and accusations about misappropriate use of party funds, but Yoshikawa continues to campaign in Setagaya. In fact, we even received one of her pamphlets through our letterbox at the Tokyo ...
One of the lesser-known effects of the coronavirus pandemic (or at least, the recent economic situation caused by multiple factors) is that it has led to an influx of Japanese sex workers in Kabukicho going abroad to earn better money.
According to recent articles in the magazine Friday (March 31 and April 7 issues), the United States used to be a popular destination among Japanese prostitutes, but increased checks at immigration control -- including apparently checking smartphone pics to see if they contain lingerie-clad selfies -- have prompted sex workers to seek out alternative ...
Last week, we wrote about the Politician Girls 48 Party (aka Political Party Girls 48), the latest incarnation of an anti-NHK fringe right-wing populist party. The candidates are all female and feature many former idols, models, and minor celebrities.
Now, as the party fields candidates in various upcoming local elections, more details have emerged about its prospective lawmakers.
In April, Hasumin Yoshikawa is standing for a seat in the Setagaya City Assembly election. Setagaya, incidentally, is where the Tokyo Kinky offices are located. It's a large, mostly residential part of Tokyo known ...
Hong Kong have cracked down on foreign sex workers, arresting numerous women on October 17.
According to local news reports, they included the former Japanese porn star Noa Aizawa (愛沢のあ), who has been working as a prostitute from a hotel in the city.
Police have targeted a prostitution ring that was promoting Aizawa's services as a sex worker on social media by using her past adult videos as promotional material. Along with Aizawa, another woman arrested at the hotel was from Thailand. They both entered Hong Kong on travel visas.
In all, 16 women were arrested in a series of ...
Following its recent interview with pink film softcore porn star Chisa Hasegawa, the awesome Substack blog-newsletter Tokyo Calling has put out another cracker -- and we are very jealous. We don't know how Gianni Simone pulled it off but he managed to land an interview with a genuine soapland worker, and it's a sensitive and enlightening read.
Accompanied by photos by Eric Rechsteiner, the intrepid Simone pays a visit to one of the many soaplands (a kind of bathhouse-style brothel) in Senzoku, the Tokyo area formerly known as Yoshiwara -- the city's most popular and renowned red-light ...
Elections bring out the eccentrics, with plenty of novelty candidates reliably popping up to keep us amused. Past examples include the wannabe politician who wore government-supplied face masks as a bra or the regular appearances of Teruki Goto -- including once nude on his campaign poster.
With the recent passing of the controversial new law regulating the porn industry, how are candidates responding to the current situation?
We found two intriguing examples among candidates for the upcoming Upper House election.
Riyo Takahashi, the 48-year-old founder of the Japanese video hosting site ...
We stumbled upon this confessional post on Amina du Jean's Substack, billed as "a digital temple for positive femininity." The title, "Crazy Sexy Tokyo," is provocative and sounds like another "wacky Japan" story at first, but we were especially intrigued to read the author's insights into compensated dating (enjo kosai).
Writing about her personal experiences of participating in this social "custom" of young women, in which they go on dates with (older) men and receive monetary "compensation" for their troubles, the author is very candid and doesn't resort to the more obvious ...
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 ...
