Tokyo sex trade preparing for Olympic crackdown-a-thon

The Tokyo Olympics are more than five years away, but Nikkan Gendai (Nov. 12) says the metropolis is already making preparations — at least that is the case for the sex trade.

Using two high-profile busts as a basis, the tabloid speculates that sex-related enterprises are shifting from the Kabukicho red-light district, for example, to lesser known areas, like Yotsuya.

On Saturday, police took Koji Takeda, the 53-year-old manager of “happening bar” Club 406, located inside a one-room apartment in the Yotsuya 3-chome district, into custody for allowing unclothed men and women to engage in obscene acts.

SM bar Saddle is located just down the road — or, rather, it was until October 3, when officers arrested manager Kozue Osugi. She was charged with supplying erotic services in violation of the adult-entertainment law, including stimulating naked male customers with needles and spraying their faces with urine.

“About three months ago, a fuzoku-related office started near JR Yotsuya Station,” a person with knowledge of the area tells the newspaper. “Gradually, activity began surfacing.”

The insider goes on to say that the Arakicho area, the former location of Saddle, offers low rents and a large number of vacant spaces.

“There’s a concern that the number of fuzoku businesses in the area is going to increase,” the source says.

Fuzoku writer Taizo Ebina tells the paper that in the run up to the Olympics the police are tightening the screws on businesses in notorious sleaze districts like Kabukicho and Shimbashi.

“For now, it is a matter of wait and see,” says the writer, “but there are many shops that are planning to move within the five years leading up to the Olympics.”

Redevelopment plans are certain to fuel speculation. Shimbashi, home to numerous massage parlors and girl’s bars, is one example.

Nomura Real Estate Development and NTT Urban Development last week announced a huge project set for the front of JR Shimbashi Station. Nearby, the massive Toranomon Hills development opened earlier this year.

“Crackdowns on lolicon-type joints have been strict,” says Ebina. “Those that opened elsewhere were shut down quickly. However, the businesses are persistent, and guerrilla operations are now the way to go.”

Source: “Hapubaa tekihatsu gorin shochi de seichi wa Kabukicho kara Yotsuya ni utsuru,” Nikkan Gendai (Nov. 12, page 5)