Cat-and-mouse game continues in underage schoolgirl dating services in Japan.

7/22/2017 9:22:08 PM

OSAKA
Although authorities have intensified a crackdown on underage schoolgirl dating services, preventing girls from simply switching to other shops where they can be highly compensated for performing illicit sexual acts is becoming a game of cat and mouse, police say.

The passage of new ordinances in Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture prohibits girls 17 and under from working in the "JK business," which thrives on the use of joshi kosei, the Japanese term for high school girls.

Shady businesses in places like Osaka Prefecture are also being exposed. But keeping track of girls who can find shops that continue to hire them for sex acts is another matter.

One shop in Osaka's bustling Namba district advertises "tourist information on high school girls."

In early January at around 8 p.m., a 17-year-old who works at "Naniwa de Sanpo" ("A Walk in Naniwa") stands outside a convenience store in plain clothes with a luxury bag slung across her shoulder.

Moments later, a man wearing a suit who appears to be in his 30s appears and greets her. The girl, who did not reveal her identity, walks off together with the man.

Several minutes later, the pair cautiously observe their surroundings before discreetly slipping into a love hotel. About an hour later, they exit the building separately.

The teenage girl returns to the convenience store where she waits outside for a rendezvous with another man.

The Osaka prefectural police arrested a former business manager and others connected to Naniwa de Sanpo in May and June for allegedly providing sexual services in violation of the child welfare law.

One girl who was employed at the shop in January said she "earned as much as 7 million yen (about $62,300)" working there.

According to industry insiders, some of the girls employed at Naniwa de Sanpo had moved there after other JK business services they had worked for were exposed by police in the past.

Although no law exists to crack down on JK businesses themselves, the hope is enforcement of regulations under the ordinance as well as on-the-spot police checks will help in preventing young girls from seeking out such employment.

JK operators are now obliged to register with the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission and submit a list of employees, allowing their ages to be verified.

In Osaka Prefecture, where there is no underage ordinance, police have been applying the child welfare law and have uncovered three other businesses aside from Naniwa de Sanpo since last September. But police admit to be fighting an uphill battle.

One police official used the analogy of "a taste of honey," referring to the high earning potential of such operations for young girls compared with regular part-time jobs.

"As long as there are girls who can't forget that 'taste of honey' and adults out there who are using the services, it's just a cat and mouse game for us," said the official.