Why Prostitution Is Legal in Japan

Watakano was once hailed as a mini-sex paradise, nicknamed “the island of prostitution.” In its heyday, from the late `70s to the mid-`80s, Japanese officials, police, and employees from the nearest main island took a 3-minute boat ride to this carnal wonderland, where a quarter of the 270 residents were sex workers. In 1947, Imperial Decree No. 9 punished those who incited women into prostitution, but prostitution itself remained legal. Several bills have been introduced in the state parliament to add new legal penalties for the recruitment of prostitutes, but have not been passed due to disputes over the appropriate level of punishment. For a more complete picture of the world`s countries and each of their legal positions on prostitution, see the table below. Immediately after World War II, the Recreation and Amusement Association was founded by the government of Naruhiko Higashikuni to organize brothels for the Allied forces occupying Japan. On August 19, 1945, the Ministry of the Interior ordered local government agencies to establish a prostitution service for Allied soldiers in order to preserve the “purity” of the Japanese race. This system of prostitution was similar to the comfort system, as the Japanese police were responsible for mobilizing women to serve in these stations, in the same way that the Japanese military mobilized women during the Pacific War. Police mobilized licensed and unauthorized prostitutes to serve in these camps. [25] The official statement states: “By sacrificing thousands of okichis of the Shōwa era, we will build a to contain the mad frenzy of the occupying forces and cultivate and preserve the purity of our race in the distant future.” [26] Such clubs were soon founded by cabinet advisors Yoshio Kodama and Ryoichi Sasakawa. In Japan, the “specialized sex trade” (so-called “sex industry”) is not synonymous with prostitution. Indeed, Japanese law defines prostitution as “sexual intercourse with an unspecified partner in exchange for compensation or with the promise of receiving compensation”, but sexual intercourse here does not include acts similar to sexual intercourse).

(Article 2 of the Anti-Prostitution Act), most sex establishments (allegedly) only offer services that do not involve sexual intercourse (in short, acts similar to sexual intercourse) in their business. In response to an increase in the number of cases of women impoverished by the novel coronavirus engaging in prostitution in downtown Tokyo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has hired specialists to provide assistance, for example by accompanying these women to local government counseling services. The SCAP abolished the system of licensed prostitution (including the RAA) in 1946, which gave rise to the so-called red line system (赤線, akasen), under which licensed nightclubs offered sexual services under the guise of a regular club or café. Local police services have traditionally regulated the location of these facilities by drawing red lines on a map. In other areas, so-called “blue line” establishments offered sexual services under the guise of restaurants, bars or other less strictly regulated establishments. In Tokyo, the most famous “red line” neighborhoods were Yoshiwara and Shinjuku 2-chome, while the most famous “blue line” neighborhood was Kabuki-cho. In 1617, the Tokugawa shogunate issued an order limiting prostitution to certain areas on the outskirts of the city, known as Yūkaku (遊廓、遊郭). The most famous of these were Yoshiwara in Edo (present-day Tokyo), Shinmachi in Osaka and Shimabara in Kyoto.[10] [11] [12] In 2003, it was reported that up to 150,000 non-Japanese women were involved in prostitution in Japan.

[42] According to the National Police Agency, out of 50 non-Japanese arrested for prostitution-related offenses in 2013, 31 (62%) were mainland Chinese, 13 (26%) Koreans, and 4 (8%) Thais. [43] Prostitution as a buyer or seller is technically illegal in Japan. However, because the legal definition of prostitution is extremely narrow and specific (vaginal sex with a stranger), sex workers have developed a cornucopia of loopholes and endpoints. These include “soaplands”, where guests are bathed by prostitutes; offer oral, breast or other non-vaginal sex; and “Fashion Health” or “Delivery Health” services that sell legal services such as a massage and unofficially launch a sexual act such as a freebie. As such, prostitution is banned in Japan, but thrives. Although prostitution or the other party to prostitution itself is prohibited, it is not punishable and, since the law was first passed, it has been criticized as a “crude law.” In recent years, due to the evolution of forms of prostitution and sexual awareness, the number of persons punished under this law has decreased considerably. However, acts that encourage prostitution are punishable, such as publicizing prostitution in a manner visible to the public, granting advances or funds for prostitution purposes, entering into a contract for the practice of prostitution and engaging in the prostitution trade (controlled prostitution). In 1908, Decree No. 16 of the Ministry of the Interior punished unregulated prostitution. [22] In an article for the U.S.-Japan Women`s Journal, G.G. Rowley fought a similar battle in Japan in the 1950s with sex workers struggling unsuccessfully to keep their jobs legal.

Article 3 of the Prevention of Prostitution Law (売春防止法, Baishun Bōshi Hō) of 1956[34] states that “no one may engage in prostitution or become a client thereof”, but there is no judicial sanction for this act. [35] Instead, under penalty of punishment, the following are prohibited: recruitment for prostitution, mediating a person in prostitution, forcing a person into prostitution, receiving compensation for the prostitution of others, obtaining a person to prostitute himself by paying an “advance”, entering into a contract to make a person a prostitute, to establish a place of prostitution, to turn a person into a prostitute and to provide funds for prostitution. [36] The fight against the criminalization of prostitution in Japan in the 1950s. Prostitution is legal in Mexico under federal law. The country`s 31 states each have their own policies on prostitution, and 13 of these states allow and regulate prostitution. Some cities have “tolerance zones” that act as red-light districts and allow regulated prostitution. Pimping is illegal in most parts of Mexico. In August, Amnesty International voted to decriminalize prostitution.

Many unions and sex worker advocacy groups say legalizing their work would help them stay safer. This would mean they would not have to reach customers through sketchy underground channels and could get help from authorities without fear of arrest. Since the definition of prostitution under the Anti-Prostitution Act is “sexual intercourse with many unspecified persons for remuneration”, it interprets the sale of many sexual activities, including sexually similar acts, as legal and not included in the penalty under the Anti-Prostitution Act. In one of the most progressive approaches in the world, prostitution in Germany is legal, organized and taxed. Germany also allows brothels, advertising and the management of prostitution jobs by personnel companies. In 2016, Germany passed the Prostitutes Protection Act, which aims to protect the legal rights of prostitutes. Part of the law is the requirement for a license for all prostitution professions and a registration certificate for all prostitutes. The definition of prostitution is strictly limited to coitus with an “unspecified person”. [35] [37] [38] This means that the sale of many acts such as oral sex, anal sex, sex between breasts and other non-coital sexual acts is legal.

Paid sex between “certain persons” (acquaintances) is not prohibited. Soaplands takes advantage of this by offering a massage in which prostitutes and clients “get to know each other” as a precursor of sexual services. [1] However, if you facilitate prostitution or if someone provides a place for prostitution, you will be arrested. Prostitution in Japan has existed throughout the country`s history. While the 1956 Prostitution Prevention Law states that “no one may engage in prostitution or become a client thereof,” loopholes, liberal interpretations, and lax enforcement of the law have allowed the Japanese sex industry to thrive and earn about 2.3 trillion yen ($24 billion) annually. [1] According to the National Police Agency, out of 224 non-Japanese arrested for prostitution-related offenses in 2018, 160 (71%) were mainland Chinese, 19 (8%) Thais. [44] Authorities cracked down on prostitution on the island and forced many sex workers to seek work in other parts of the country, Takagi said. In other words, the law is structured in such a way that women who engage in prostitution are not punished in view of their situation, but prostitution itself is illegal and those who facilitate the act are exposed.