75 people arrested, including teenagers, on the streets of Tokyo...Making 1 billion won for 2 years
Jul 25, 2025
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This is more than doubled from the same period last year.
The average age of 75 women arrested was 25, nine of whom were teenagers, the Mainichi Shimbun reported, citing a statement from Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
In particular, about 80% of the arrested women were current or former sex workers, and six college students were included, raising concerns about structural problems in society as a whole.
According to a police survey, more than 40% of women went on prostitution to pay off debts incurred by using host clubs.
Some could not help it because of economic hardship", he stated, adding that working independently is faster than existing prostitution establishments.
Some of the arrested women pleaded guilty to attempting prostitution against foreign men.
In fact, on the 22nd, four women in their 20s were arrested at the scene while encouraging foreign men to have sex near Okubo Park.
They reportedly stated that "'Japanese men may be undercover police, but foreigners felt safer because they did not.'"
According to the police, the women were mainly targeting Taiwanese tourists from May 14 to June 19, with one dealing with more than five customers a day and earning as much as 110 million yen (about 1.03 billion won) over two years.
Prostitution transactions were conducted at 20,000 to 30,000 yen (about 180,000 to 280,000 won) per session, and they were organized by sharing photos and information of undercover police officers in online group chat rooms to avoid arrest.
Tokyo police said more than 50 reports of disputes between customers related to the group have been received since October last year. Authorities are particularly concerned about the recent increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting the park in the region, which has led to the expansion of prostitution targets to foreigners.
An official from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Agency said "Economic and psychological support should be provided in parallel so that women can return to their daily lives beyond simple crackdowns."," he stressed.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
