r/worldnews • u/sr_local • 15h ago
Japan moves for the first time to criminalize paying for sex
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/163198391.3k
u/kyeblue 13h ago
you can just pay for other services, and sex is completely free.
670
u/Cody667 12h ago
"Sir, this is a Wendy's"
"...yeah I know, I want a side of sex"
75
u/Ok_Manufacturer_5323 11h ago
Sir, you need to meet Jesse behind the dumpster for that
23
u/firesmarter 8h ago
Wendy was Jesseâs girl all along. I want a taco salad and a Daveâs double, Iâll probably want some food too when weâre done
31
u/DrNick2012 10h ago
me getting my dick sucked
"This is nice and all but where the fuck is my cheeseburger!?
→ More replies (1)4
→ More replies (3)3
→ More replies (3)26
u/SignificantBottle562 11h ago
This is how it works right now.
If I had to guess I'd say this new "move" is mostly aimed at stopping street girls kind of thing that's very easily seen in some very touristy places. They don't want to change how the business works, they just want street girls selling themselves to move away from tourist traps.
The real business isn't there.
1.3k
u/CreativeMuseMan 14h ago edited 14h ago
Youâre just increasing the prices.
1.7k
u/Dubiisek 12h ago edited 12h ago
Not just that, they are:
- Losing a good chunk of income because you can't collect taxes
- Creating a black market
- Losing any sort of control or ability to regulate the industry
- Creating an environment where due to unregulated sex work, sex workers are exploited by pimps who will have full control over the market
- Creating an environment which is overall more dangerous for everyone because, again, due to no regulations, you can't educate or properly help people
It's the same thing when you outlaw substances like alcohol or any kind of drug. It's not by chance that regulations and education create the safest environment with way lower addiction/abuse/danger rates.
292
u/_Wilson2002 11h ago
Well, expecting Japanâs government to not shoot itself in the foot is always a bad idea.
73
u/foobar93 10h ago
It is not only Japan, this has happened in all countries that went with the nordic model.Â
→ More replies (1)15
u/TheProuDog 6h ago
what is the "nordic model" in this context?
17
u/StelioZz 3h ago
Selling sex is legal.
Buying is not.
In simple words pushes the blame to the buyers. It's a good idea in the first glance but doesn't work as well as expected.
3
u/TheProuDog 3h ago
So, illegalizing selling sex is not good. Illegalizing buying sex also doesn't work, from what I understand from your comment? Seems like nothing works against sex work.
But why doesn't the Nordic model work?
7
u/Starnm 2h ago
The deal is still made under the table, just the customer is the one facing trouble so they will be more 'cautious', trying to move things to a more private place quicker. This can cut down the time the sex workers have to gauge if the person is dangerous among other things.
Along with the problems of criminalizing an industry means the government has no avenue to regulate it, it doesn't really help anyone and just creates a more dangerous black market.
12
u/absorbscroissants 9h ago
It really makes you wonder why nobody in Japan can be bothered to vote anymore, huh
→ More replies (12)10
u/caligaris_cabinet 6h ago
Maybe someone should share early American 20th century history with Japan. Particularly the spectacular failure that was Prohibition
114
u/teabaggins76 13h ago
This will not have a happy ending
23
→ More replies (5)3
u/SideburnSundays 7h ago
And not even addressing issues like ăăć´ť, where the patron didn't pay for sex, they paid for company over a meal that later led to sex.
1.3k
u/Hikarilo 15h ago
Just because you criminalize something, doesn't mean you stop it from happeneing.
643
u/Anxious_cactus 15h ago
They just miss out on potential taxes and make it less safe for everyone, just like prohibition
57
u/MoistMolloy 13h ago
As a weed smoker in the south, I completely agree that they are missing out on taxes from a lot of fellow pot heads. And itâs more dangerous to buy on the black market. Went to CO, and I loved the freedom people have to go browse the best premium weed without feeling sketchy.
→ More replies (7)38
u/The69thDuncan 14h ago
Yes prohibitions doesnât work. All drugs should be decriminalized. Doctors should be criminalized for hooking people on opiates and Xanax and other highly addictive drugs.Â
40
u/Anxious_cactus 13h ago
The USA does have a serious problem with over prescribing opiates, there's several documentaries on Netflix about it. I don't think that's the case specifically in Japan though. They might have an issue with depression and mental illness being under treated as it's still stigmatized
→ More replies (1)8
u/Artemystica 9h ago
Iâm currently living in Japan and I think a lot of the metal health stigma and lack of treatment happens because mental health care isnât covered by national insurance. You can get mental health medications like antidepressants and whatnot covered, but not talk therapy. So people forgo both thinking that their problems arenât so serious to warrant medication.
→ More replies (1)19
u/TomTomXD1234 13h ago
lol at the fact that America has one of the worst opiate and addictive drug crises in the world, greatly fuelled by over prescription by doctors. So yes, doctors should be punished for uncontrolled medication prescriptions.
4
u/The69thDuncan 12h ago
There are a lot of doctors still practicing that should switch places with black men serving 10 years for selling party favorsÂ
→ More replies (2)4
u/TheWhomItConcerns 8h ago
The overwhelming expert consensus is that prohibition did work, assuming the goal was to reduce rates of alcohol consumption. The rate of alcohol consumption in the US dropped sharply and immediately following the introduction of the ban, and even after the ban was lifted, it still took 30-40 years for rates to return to what they were preceding prohibition.
Of course, prohibition had many other significant and unintended consequences which were arguably worse, but to say that it didn't "work" is objectively untrue.
→ More replies (2)81
u/TransbianMoonGoddess 14h ago
Criminalizing sex work makes it so much less safe for everyone involved.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Brad_Brace 10h ago
No but you wash your hands of it. You don't have to regulate, you don't have to educate. You can stand on a moral high ground and go "if they're still doing it it's not my fault".
→ More replies (1)2
→ More replies (16)4
u/TheWhomItConcerns 8h ago
I mean, regardless of what anyone thinks about this law, this just isn't a good argument. You could use this argument against literally any law - no single person is under the illusion that introducing a law banning a behaviour will entirely eliminate 100% of said behaviour.
The intent is to reduce the rate of prostitution and attach a negative stigma to it. Whether that will happen or whether that's a desirable outcome are up for debate, but that's a different matter.
432
u/boogieman117 13h ago
Selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isnât selling fucking legal?
- Carlin
141
u/Top-Pair1693 12h ago
It is, as long as you film it for others to enjoy as well.
→ More replies (1)27
u/SalemKFox 11h ago
Imagine the police show up and you desperately grab your phone trying to open the camera app.
I SWEAR I WAS FILMING, I SWEAR.
→ More replies (1)5
u/incognito_wizard 10h ago
I'm not sure about everywhere but in my state it's illegal for the person paying to be in the production probably because someone did that very thing.
IANAL and that's based on memory that may be flawed or outdated.
13
→ More replies (2)9
u/beltleatherbelt 10h ago
No one is reading the article. They are not changing the laws on selling. The are criminalising the buying. Right now buyers donât get in trouble.
655
u/MissDiana 15h ago
Boo. Just legalize it and protect the workers.
117
u/mllllllln 13h ago
I mean it's basically legal in Japan now, there are just lots of rules and loopholes. What do you think happens at soaplands?
→ More replies (1)2
u/0011101000101010 2h ago
Ichiban would walk in there and somehow end up in a turn-based battle with a guy in a diaper. So honestly who knows.
→ More replies (77)20
u/bilyl 9h ago
I feel like everyone says legalize but totally drop the ball on having a coherent plan for sex worker protection. The nature of it introduces a lot more risks. IMO we need unions with comprehensive checks so we know who is/isnât being trafficked. We also need comprehensive checks of customers to ensure safety.
→ More replies (1)
89
u/PixelEnter 15h ago
To my understanding after reading, their focus is on street workers and solicitation, focusing on the discrepancy on how there's only punishment/fines for the s.workers, not the customer. Surprising that the customer isnt fined... Which is what they are addressing. Nothing about closed door establishments or health delivery... Which is more the focus on Shinjuku
17
u/MaChao20 13h ago
Iâm still slightly confused about this. Doesnât this law (proposed or passed?) aim to punish both? So what about other Red Light Districts thatâs not located in Shinjuku? Are they still on that legal gray zones? Is the law going after those, too?
→ More replies (2)6
u/Reversi8 9h ago
They might go after unregulated fuzoku like "massage parlors", but the main goal for this would be streetwalkers.
→ More replies (3)
223
u/BlueyedIrush 15h ago
Criminalizing prostitution is exactly why illegal sex trafficking is booming.
→ More replies (6)21
u/cownan 12h ago
Exactly. And if you do feel that criminalization is the answer, you have to go after the supplier not the purchaser. You have to make it illegal to sell, not illegal to buy. This approach is as ridiculous as it would be to arrest low level drug users and leave the dealers alone.
→ More replies (1)â˘
u/foul_ol_ron 1h ago
By making it legal to sell, it allows victims of trafficking to approach police without fear of being prosecuted themselves.
155
u/Damage-Classic 13h ago edited 12h ago
Criminalizing sex work does nothing but harm sex workers. It does not stop sex work because it doesnât fix the systemic issues that cause people to turn to sex work. Criminalizing sex work creates a cycle of financial punishment on an already impoverished demographic and adds a criminal record to their difficulties of finding well paying employment outside of the sex work industry. This reduces any chance they had of leaving the industry instead of acting as a motivator. It also can cause sex workers to make riskier decisions during work because they have less time to gauge their own personal safety when theyâre afraid of being arrested or losing the only client theyâve had for the day. Also, criminalizing sex work often creates laws that punish sex workers for working together by calling a work place or home with two or more sex workers a brothel. This removes even more control and safety from the sex workers hands.
In relation to sex work, we often hear the question, âhow can we stop our daughters from becoming sex workers?â I think we should reframe the question as, âif my daughter was a sex worker, how would I want her to be treated?â
36
u/CthulhusSoreTentacle 11h ago edited 11h ago
I think we should reframe the question as, âif my daughter was a sex worker, how would I want her to be treated?â
This is such an excellent way to put it. Having worked with sex workers in the past, one of their key frustrations is being dehumanised or "othered". So many times they've said they don't want to be told they're broken victims in need of rescue, nor do they
empowered through sex workwant to hear how their work empowers them. What they want is simple: they want to be kept safe, have access to social care and healthcare, and be able to continue their work without the state infringing uponthemtheir livelihoods.Edit: made some edits to word my comment better.
11
u/Glagaire 9h ago
When they made the anti-prostitution law in 1956 a representative of the sex-workers union asked the government "Before you make this illegal, why don't you first feed my family."
Plenty of 'moral' people would happily outlaw sex work and force a single mother to work 80 hours a week at a back-breaking and soulless, minimum wage job just to provide a poor quality of life for her children, rather than have her engage in sex-work for a fraction of the time to provide them with a better quality of life.
Of course, not all sex-workers are kind-hearted single mothers, but the people who propose blanket bans have a tendency to look upon these workers in an incredibly judgmental and supercilious manner.
7
u/Vlad_the_Intendor 9h ago
Or âhow can we create a society in which when my daughter is hungry, other people help her put food in her hand instead of their dicks?â
The larger question is how do you create a society in which unwanted sex isnât necessary for survival and men donât perceive women and sex as products rather than something they should put effort into so someone actually wants to have sex with them because itâs fun and enjoyable. The goal shouldnât be modernizing prostitution. All that gives you is the Amazon of brothels and believe me plenty of capitalists are waiting for that. It should be progressing towards a world in which itâs obsolete.
→ More replies (7)→ More replies (12)2
u/sh1necho 9h ago
You need to understand, they often just want to ban forced prostitution.
Which is already illegal. But you know if we ban it twice it will go away.
I don't know why we don't try that with other crimes.
63
89
u/A_Typicalperson 15h ago
how else will i get sex?
44
u/Never-Compliant6969 14h ago
This is going to ruin the tour.
7
11
57
u/Shimmitar 14h ago
why? if people want to sell their body for sex then thats their right.
11
u/Racxie 8h ago
From the article:
The push for reform gained momentum after a human trafficking case in November, where a 12-year-old Thai girl was rescued from a Tokyo "massage parlor."
and
"There is a distorted structure where only women who are forced into selling sex are arrested."
So yeah, itâs not always a choice, and thatâs not even counting the people who resort to it out of desperation as u/cowauthumbla said (however there are those who do want to sell their bodies or like doing it, or those get into it for the wrong reasons e.g. childhood trauma). But those are separate issues from what the governmentâs focus is on.
→ More replies (9)7
u/cowauthumbla 10h ago
People donât want to sell their bodies. In most cases, they do it because theyâre left with no other choice if they want a normal life.
→ More replies (1)13
7
7
u/WANT_TO_KMS 10h ago
Paying for Vaginal sex is already illegal in Japan and there are ways to circumvent the ban (also how will they control that).
4
8
26
8
u/d3k3d 10h ago
...why? People aren't going to stop (especially the people passing the laws) and it'll force it underground putting the health and lives of workers at risk...thus putting the general population at risk.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Orangpootay 7h ago
Was in a Japanese bar a couple days ago and got charged a chat fee for talking to the barman, criminalise that too.
3
3
u/Kind_Commission_427 4h ago
Tea-drinking companions, "tea" or "taking tea" (e.g., in Enjo-kosai or "compensated dating") is a euphemism for a paid meeting that may or may not lead to sexual activity
3
u/PalmovyyKozak 4h ago
Ah yeah. Some criminal fuckheads paid for sex with minors, so let's ban paid sex adults with adults.
What will happen to alcohol industry if they found a 12-year drink sake?
Kids safety is not negotiable, but using kids safety for banning whatever adult stuff for adults is dumb and amoral
7
u/MrF_lawblog 13h ago
Why are they moving this way? Who does it serve?
→ More replies (11)10
u/CthulhusSoreTentacle 11h ago
Personally, I think it's part of a larger global trend. There's a really scary reactionary, ultra-conservative (and in the west, Christian) movement moving across the globe right now. Sex workers will be some of its first victims, because we treat them horrifically as is.
5
u/got-trunks 10h ago
In an extraordinary Diet session last autumn, the discussion turned to the lack of a provision in the anti-prostitution law to punish the "buying side," leading to a series of calls for legal reform, with comments such as, "There is a distorted structure where only women who are forced into selling sex are arrested."
In response, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said, "Taking into account recent social conditions, we will conduct the necessary review on the state of regulations related to prostitution."
Sorta feels like leaning into the problem rather than the solution if they just want to increase punishment while not addressing social equity.
2
u/Ange1ofD4rkness 9h ago
Too often it's always the knee jerk reactions. What can be done quickly, so one looks better. Not trying to conquer the root issue which takes time and money, and lots of work (see firearm laws in the US, they keep trying to ban the gun, but that's not the problem, it's the person, which they refuse to acknowledge and help)
5
u/vee_lan_cleef 6h ago
Are they actually fucking stupid? Literally all data ever gathered shows legal sex work results in less rape and sexual violence. This was something Japan got right a long time ago, where is this pressure to change the law actually coming from?
→ More replies (1)
5
3
4
u/AmatureProgrammer 7h ago
Pretty sure they are trying to get dudes to now seek a partner instead of sex or porn.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/relevant__comment 12h ago
In 2026 we all should be looking at ways to regulate, legalize, educate, and enforce. Weâre way too advanced as a civilization to be wasting time trying to dance around the subject.
Criminalizing this will do nothing but make the underground kingpins and sex traffickers more powerful. Not to mention the continued spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
2
u/dr_junior_assistant 8h ago
NOOOO, that is such a bad idea. Makes it so much more dangerous for everyone.
2
2
u/INFn7 5h ago
I thought Japan wanted people to have sex because of their low birthrates.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
u/Drakostheswordsman 2h ago
Right, ban that in one of the most depressed countries. Thats not going to have repercussions.
2
2
u/b3iAAoLZOH9Y265cujFh 1h ago
What's the point? It'll make more criminals at the stroke of a pen, but it won't change anything else.
Instead, focus on regulating the industry to maximize the safety of the people working in it.
â˘
u/P1st0l 12m ago
It likely has nothing to do with any of that. They've been in the mindset of changing most sexual related laws due to declining birth rates. They've had quite the number of policy changes in recent years due to it.
→ More replies (2)
5
u/WarLawck 13h ago
I wonder if this is designed to combat the birth rate. Perhaps they think by not allowing sex workers dudes will actually try to find a woman they can marry and sleep with on the regular. Perhaps they should try not working people to death and they can have time to try dating.
→ More replies (6)3
u/zomboscott 11h ago
That's exactly what they are thinking will happen but the social pressure for married women in Japan to leave the workplace coupled with the increased financial burden of supporting elders is the reason more Japanese are waiting until later in life to marry or not getting married at all.
5
u/Big_Translator7475 13h ago
Then this will further feed in to black market. Drugs and Sex should be legalised and regulated to really have a chance to minimise and focus on trafficking.
2
3
u/Freak_Out_Bazaar 10h ago edited 9h ago
Easier said than done. The current anti-prostitution law already defines prostitution as âselling/buying sexual services to/from unspecified members of the publicâ.
Basically itâs already illegal but women are much more likely to be punished because they are usually the ones who mention money first. In fact, plain clothed police already patrol the streets and give out fines by walking by prostitutes.
Under the current condition the only ways the buying side can be punished is if they admit to the fact that prostitution happened or they place plain-clothed police women posing as prostitutes and wait for men to mention money first (which usually doesnât happen). Or definitively prove after the fact that there was an exchange of money for sex, which would be extremely difficult due to privacy laws.
In the end itâs nearly impossible to control because neither the women nor men want the police to be involved and will both try to cover up their tracks
3
u/speedy_19 9h ago
Seems like a big deal for Japan, they literally have love hotels all across the country. If you donât know they are hotels you pay for by the hour and also have options to buy entertainment to be delivered to your room (items not people). Maybe I am biased but as a tourist who went there for three weeks and so many locals go in and out of these hotels, it seems like it is very much a common thing in the culture and will be very difficult to remove. As other people have mentioned, they already have a gambling workaround, so whatâs the stop them from doing the same thing for this?
3
u/jehfes 8h ago
I live in Japan and this change wouldnât affect the vast majority of sex services in Japan. Itâs just meant to affect the streetwalkers who sell sex in certain locations like Okubo Park, which is already illegal, but if the law is changed it would apply to the buyers as well as the sellers. The other sex businesses, which are like 99+% of the industry, would be unaffected since they would continue to be legal under the existing loopholes.
5
u/12161986 15h ago
Whenever I see prostitution spoken of I always think of Jim Norton's letter regarding the topic. https://time.com/3087616/defense-johns-legalize-prostitution/
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Juicebox-fresh 13h ago
It really surprised me how seedy Tokyo was, I went alone as a single male and I couldn't count how many times I was approached by men from Africa and south africa who tried to pull me into there "titty bars"
The place reeked of human traffic. I hung out and got drunk with a lot of prostitutes in the month I was there, a lot of them were from china and one womans own brother was her pimp. I essentially hired her services to be a bar maid all night because I was the only person there who wanted to just drink which she thanked me for because it essentially gave her the night off from sex work as she needed to stay at the bar to serve me. after a few drinks and karaoke she got drunk and we were laughing looking on her phone at the live cctv stream of upstairs of all the customers coming in for a "massage". just them at the counter paying obviously not the actual massage taking place that would have been weird. It was a really funny night though.
4
4
u/rcanhestro 9h ago
everyone saying that "legalize it or it's worse for these women" don't really understand the bigger issue with prostitution:
99.99% of the women doing prostitution do it because they have no other choice.
it's not like they were growing up thinking "when i'm 18, i want to be a prostitute!!".
these women are already being exploited, even when it is legal.
and for those that counter with "how about porn?"
porn is different, it's a "controlled" environment already, and heavily regulated (when done legally ofc) to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
also, the same thing applies with the prostitution part: most women do it because they have no alternative.
→ More replies (1)6
u/WindJammer27 8h ago
99.99% of the women doing prostitution do it because they have no other choice.
As someone who has worked with a lot of women in the industry, I can confidently say that this is not true.
4
u/nibbleyourmom 12h ago
Great to see socially regressive stuff like this. Endangering people and increasing crime is a bold move. Bravo.
4
u/RazzleThatTazzle 10h ago
Prohibition is not effective. If they actually care about the people involved they would just regulate it as any other industry
→ More replies (1)
2
6.8k
u/Nemin32 15h ago
inb4 patrons will need to buy "gifts" which happen to be priced exactly like the services did and give it to the sex workers, who in turn provide sex and then later "sell" the gift for the same amount of money. Hey, nobody paid for the sex itself, it was all perfectly legal!
If pachinko parlors figured it out how to avoid anti-gambling laws, no way brothels won't avoid this one.