Â鶹´«Ã½

Tag - host-bars

 
Â鶹´«Ã½
Search
 
August 13, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

HOST BARS

Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 14, 2026
Cash is king again at Tokyo¡¯s bars after credit processor fails
Though the impact of Zentoshin¡¯s sudden bankruptcy is limited, it¡¯s a setback for Japan, which only recently shed its notorious cash-only image.
The Kabukicho nightlife district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 30, 2026
Host arrested for using dating app to lure women to club in Tokyo
The arrest marked the first crackdown in the country on cases involving soliciting customers to restaurants and pubs through dating apps.
Police have arrested a senior official of Nippon Kakekomidera, a nonprofit organization that helps vulnerable people in Tokyo¡¯s Kabukicho district, for cocaine possession.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2025
Youth support group official arrested for cocaine possession
A senior official of a group that helps youth in Tokyo¡¯s red-light district was arrested along with a woman in her 20s who is believed to have sought help from the nonprofit.
Officials of the National Public Safety Commission inspect the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in June 2024, as crimes committed by unscrupulous host clubs have surfaced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2025
Crimes by ¡®tokuryu¡¯ anonymous groups pose serious issue in Japan
Police have made capturing the ringleaders a top priority but are struggling in their investigations, largely due to the criminals¡¯?use of highly encrypted communication apps.
The illuminated advertising board of a host club in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The bill approved by the government on Friday aims to ban hosts from emotionally manipulating customers into making excessive purchases ¡ª a common tactic in the industry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Japan looks to crack down on host club exploitation with tighter regulations
Police received 2,776 consultations nationwide related to host clubs last year, with many involving women coerced into sex work to cover unpaid bills.
Billboard advertisements for host clubs in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Tokyo police step up crackdown on sex worker scout group
The group is believed to have earned about ?7 billion over five years by dispatching women to the sexual service businesses that offered the best pay.
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2024
National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs
The expert panel recommends targeting malicious practices, rather than specific establishments, to cover more ground.
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 19, 2024
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
After the daughter visited a Kabukicho host club for the first time five years ago, the outing spiraled into something much darker.
A woman is arrested for soliciting prostitution near Okubo Park in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024
88 arrested for soliciting prostitution near Tokyo park so far this year
The arrests reflect ongoing challenges in curbing illegal activities in Shinjuku¡¯s Okubo Park area, which has been dubbed a ¡°prostitution haven¡± on social media.
Daisuke Tanaka's profile photo on his Instagram account
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 13, 2024
Host arrested on suspicion of coercing client into prostitution
A host club employee in Tokyo¡¯s Kabukicho entertainment district was arrested for allegedly attempting to force a female client into prostitution.
Investigators from the Osaka Prefectural Police conduct a search last month at the high-end Japanese restaurant Tenhime, operated by Tateki Okuda, in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2024
Osaka brothel owner arrested for allegedly forcing 150 into prostitution
The suspect, who had already been arrested for facilitating prostitution, was newly arrested along with four others for offering venues for prostitution.
Yoshifumi Matsumura (second from right), head of the National Public Safety Commission, inspects Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in June.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 5, 2024
Tokyo host bar worker arrested over kickbacks for brokering prostitution
It is the first time a worker at a host bar has been arrested over receiving kickbacks for brokering prostitution.
One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 22, 2024
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯
Homeless influencers, fantasy boyfriends and bubble-era bars ¡ª Kabukicho seems to have it all.
A woman speaks of her experience of being sent to Macau by an overseas prostitution broker during an interview in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 8.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2024
Three men rearrested over brokering of overseas prostitution
The men sent between 200 and 300 Japanese women to brothels in the United States, Canada and Australia over three years, bringing in roughly ?200 million.
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker ¡°Sugar Baby Riri,¡± dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2024
¡®Sugar Baby Riri¡¯ gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
The 25-year-old swindled three men out of ?159 million, which she spent on a Kabukicho host she fell in love with.
According to the Tokyo police, 22-year-old student host Yuya Inaba lured an underage girl into spending money by seducing her and making false promises such as, ¡°Let¡¯s get married when you turn 18.¡±
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 11, 2024
Tokyo host club worker arrested after underage girl racks up ?6 million in charges
The 15-year-old girl visited the club around 10 times between March and July 2023, and had racked up charges that totaled ?6 million.
Police officers conduct a special inspection of Shinjuku Ward's Kabukicho in Tokyo in December.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2024
Â鶹´«Ã½ police crack down on host clubs
More than 200 administrative penalties have been issued against such establishments nationwide for various violations, National Police Agency says.
A group of 19 host club owners in Kabukicho who own most of the host clubs in the area have pledged to ban the pay-later system by April and prohibit entry to those under 20 years old from January.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 26, 2023
How Â鶹´«Ã½ host clubs trap young women under mountains of debt
False promises of love ¡ª and even marriage ¡ª lead to huge bills for some as young as 18, who are often then coaxed into sex work to make repayments.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2023
Women arrested for prostitution in Shinjuku tripled in 2023
The issue of women going into prostitution as a result of loans used to finance host club visits has become a huge problem.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2023
Japan moves to strengthen crackdown on malicious host clubs
Some women end up with massive debts and are forced into prostitution to repay the sums.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER