Iwate professor busted for referring female exchange students to hostess club

TOKYO (TR) – Iwate Prefectural Police filed charges in Morioka District Court on Monday against a university professor for referring female exchange students to a hostess club for employment, reports the Nikkan Sports (Aug. 27).

Between October 26 of last year and February 9, Masamichi Okazaki, 59, a professor at Iwate University’s international exchange center, is alleged to have supplied four students, of which one was from China and the other three from Russia, to a “snack” hostess club in Morioka City.

The professor has been charged with violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act regarding illegal employment. Under that act, students are not permitted to work at adult-entertainment establishments.

According to the Jiji Press (Aug. 27), Okazaki is a regular customer at the club. At the urging of the club’s manager, the professor posted employment recruitment posters outside his office.

On August 19, the club was cited for illegal operation under the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses. The manager was subsequently fined 800,000 yen by a summary court order.

A former employee at the club tells the Yomiuri Shimbun (Aug. 27) that more than 10 girls from the school worked at the establishment.

“This is highly regrettable,” said Katsumi Fujii, a spokesperson for Iwate University, at a press conference. “It is a matter to be taken seriously as it undermines the trust society places upon us.”