Chinese hookers in Tokyo ride out tense times in wake of Senkaku strife

One result of the raucous and sometimes destructive anti-Japanese demonstrations over the disputed Senkaku chain of islands in the East China Sea that have raged recently across over 100 cities in mainland China (and Hong Kong) is that shops in Tokyo offering the services of Chinese masseuses have seen a sharp drop-off in demand.

“Over the past two weeks, customers have been generally down, but from last weekend, when the TV news began showing violent scenes from the demonstrations, our business plunged,” the manager of a shop featuring gals from the Middle Kingdom who serve up sexual solace tells Nikkan Gendai (Sep. 21). “On September 18 and 19, we got two, maybe three customers. It’s the first time we’ve ever been driven to the wall like this.”

But while this situation may spell hard times for Chinese gals in the skin trade, Japanese males may find that heightened tensions may work to their advantage.

“Rumors have been spreading that Chinese girls have been beaten up by Japanese Johns, and some of them are even begging off on transactions with customers they don’t know out of fears for their safety,” says “pink” journalist Yasuhiro Ebina. “Many Chinese women tend to be blunt and unsociable, but of late they are forcing themselves to smile, and have been primping themselves to improve their appearance.

“Before a deri heru (out-call sex) service might have charged an additional 8,000 yen for honban (the “real thing,” i.e., intercourse), but now they’ve knocked as much as 5,000 yen off the total price,” Ebina adds.

According to the aforementioned shop manager, women from Shanghai tend to be proud and many refuse to dispense oral sex, but over the past week they are now even providing lip service bareback. And some ladies from Dalian or Harbin are even allowing customers condom-free rides.

“When I dropped in to a Chinese massage joint in Shinjuku on the night of September 15, I was surprised,” relates Kazuo Kajiyama, another writer who covers the sex trade. “Usually they charge 8,000 yen for a 40-minute session, but this time everything was half price. And for 4,000 yen you could even go all the way.

“One of the girls there said to me, ‘Business is almost dead, so we dropped our prices,'” Kajiyama adds. “Their financial situation is becoming increasingly difficult, and her eyes were blazing with desperation.

“My advice is, if you patronize one of those places, don’t take your eyes off your wallet for even a second.”

The writer of the article suggests that handing the girl a generous tip before she begins to dispense services is likely to be received with great appreciation, and the services that follow will be anything but anti-Japanese. (K.S.)

Source: “Chugokujin fuzokujo funinki de, asobi suki ga ukeru kore dake no meritto,” Nikkan Gendai (Sep. 21, page 7)