Fewer people are seen on the streets of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on March 26, following the governor’s request of refraining from night-time outings. (Masayoshi Hayashi)

An advocacy group is calling on the government to include sex workers in a new subsidy program that compensates for lost income from the coronavirus outbreak.

The new support measures are aimed at helping parents forced to take time off from work to look after their children, following government-requested school closures that started in early March to slow the virus spread.

Employers of parents who have been off work are eligible for the subsidy, if they meet certain requirements. Self-employed parents can also apply.

But sex workers and restaurant industry hosts and hostesses are barred from accessing the funding, along with members of organized crime syndicates.

The rules are being slammed on social media by some as “discrimination by occupation.”

Swash, an advocacy group for sex workers, is urging the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to revise its program requirements. It sent a written request on April 2 to the minister, Katsunobu Kato, calling for changes.

“The government program helps encourage discrimination and prejudice against those working in the sex industry,” said Yukiko Kaname, who heads the group.

A ministry official said the government has no intention of discriminating against people based on their occupation. The official said the rules barring sex workers are the same as those for the existing subsidy program to maintain employment.

Last week, the minister rejected the idea of offering the subsidy to them.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for public support measures to benefit (those in the sex industry),” Kato said at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting on April 3. “We are not planning to change the target (of the program).”

(This article was written by Suguru Takizawa and Sawa Okabayashi.)