Police Say More Japanese Women Becoming Human Trafficking Victims

The National Police Agency announced recently that there were total of 44 human trafficking cases confirmed by police across Japan in 2012, and a dramatic uptick in the number of domestic trafficking cases. The numbers of victim were 27 in all. However, what was unusual was that among them a total of 11 Japanese women were [...]

On Modern Slavery: Thoughts on Human Trafficking

[Not only do I find it personally abhorrent, but intellectually, it] is a terrible exploit of labor that robs women, men and children of their freedom and dignity. In fact, human trafficking is too polite of a term. “Modern slavery” is a more apt expression. Perhaps if portrayed by this term, more people would share my vehemence to combat it.

Sexnomics: Japan’s 100 Billion Dollar Sex Industry And The Pink Zone

If you are an anthropologist, an economic researcher, or simply interested in the seedy side of the sun, than this book is a treasure trove of strange and useful information. For example, the “fashion health” (euphemism for sexual massage to include fellatio/hand-jobs/frottage) industry, which is perfectly legal in most places, brings in $678,000,000,000 yen a year. In addition to “fashion health” there are also “image clubs”, in which similar sexual services are provided but the women wear uniforms (maid, nurse, policewoman, office worker, pregnant mother etc) and the sex shop has a theme. Think of mini-sexual theme parks and you have a good idea of what an image club is like.

Crime and Punishment in Japan

“Individually, the Japanese detectives are charming, dedicated, hard working, sincere and very decent, however as an institution, the Japanese police are arrogant and frequently incompetent,” Mr. Parry asserts.

Japan’s Human Trafficking Problems Not Resolved: US State Department

The government has not identified a forced labor victim in Japan in 18 years, despite substantial evidence of abuses against workers in the Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program. Japan is making only slight progress in protecting women and children from forced prostitution，there seems to be little effort aimed at forced labor，male victims， etc.

Edible soap? Yakuza Arrested For Claiming Sex-Shop Payment Was For Dining

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Organized Crime Control Division General Affair Division (警視庁組織犯罪対策総務課） arrested three members of the Inagawa-kai, Japan’s third largest organized crime  group, on April 27th for computer fraud (電子計算機使用詐欺). According to police sources, the three gangsters were operating a sex shop establishment, called “soap-lands”  in Japan, and in October of 2010 processed [...]

Child Pornography Cases Hit A New High In Japan

Japan’s National Police Agency announced recently that there was an all-time high record of criminal cases involving child porn production and sales in Japan for 2011. 1455 cases. In Japan it is still legal to possess child pornography.

Going through the motions in The Great Happiness Space

Director Jake Clennell gives the deets on what exactly the film was about

Moe Yamaguchi's high-rolling husband arrested for running illegal hostess club

Actress and talento Moe Yamaguchi was “really stunned” when she learned her husband, web entrepreneur Shigeo Ozeki, has been illegally running a posh hostess club without a license. Ozeki and two other men were arrested May 26 for their suspected connection with “Birth Nishi-Azabu“, an exclusive but unlicensed hostess club hidden in a residential neighbourhood [...]

Hidden love hotels come out of the closet thanks to law revisions; It's a love fest in post-quake Japan

It seems business is booming for the love hotel industry. The number of registered businesses has jumped by a whopping 2,700 hotels since the beginning of the year, a hefty number considering that, at the end of 2010, there were only 3,692 love dens on the books. While it looks like the entire country has [...]