What is this “Tawaman Prostitution” that is now mushrooming in popular “Musako” and the Bay Area?

As condominium prices continue to soar these days, it is not uncommon to find tower condominiums in popular areas with prices in excess of 100 million yen. However, prostitution is said to be rampant in such tower condominiums, a sign of success. In order to verify the veracity of this information, the author attempted to go undercover as a guest.

Many of the companies offering prostitution in the apartments ostensibly call themselves “storefront men’s esthetic salons. When we looked at the website of one of them, we found that the address was not written on the website. When I made a reservation, I received an e-mail with a room number on a high-rise floor of a tower block in a prime Tokyo location.

I pressed the number on the intercom at the entrance on the first floor. A woman’s voice said, “Yes, come in,” and the heavy automatic door opened. After passing through the automatic lock twice more, I took the elevator to the designated floor. When I pressed the doorbell, a woman in her mid-30s wearing a one-piece dress with a short hem opened the door. She was a beautiful woman reminiscent of the model Jun Hasegawa.

She took off her shoes and entered the room, a one-bedroom apartment with a bed, sofa, and decorative plants, but no other furniture or television set, so there was no sense of domesticity. The view, which is the pride of the townhouse, is obscured by the thick curtains that are closed off.

She urged me to pay her first, and I handed her 15,000 yen. As she accepted the money, she said, “What do you think of the options?

What are your options?　20,000 yen to finish, and 10,000 yen for your hands.

She spoke fluent Japanese, but her accent was clearly of Chinese origin.

When I asked, “What’s the last one? When I asked, “What’s the last thing?” she replied, “I can’t tell you that,” but I didn’t have to say anything.

When she saw that we had no intention of doing so, her face suddenly clouded and she said, “I’ve never met anyone here who doesn’t have options.

There are at least 10 illegal brothels offering sexual services in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

There are at least 10 illegal sex service providers in the Tokyo metropolitan area,” said an advertising agency manager who specializes in illegal sex services. He says there is a rational reason for this.

The high level of security of the tower blocks, with their multiple auto-locks and security cameras, is also a source of comfort for the companies,” says an advertising agency manager specializing in illegal sex services. This is because recently there has been an increase in takings (robberies) targeting illegal brothels that are not reported to the police even if they have been victimized. In addition, a tawaman can buy time for the police to conduct a sudden search of the house before they raid it.

Furthermore, condominium owners who rent out rooms to illegal sex workers also have their own reasons.

Not long ago, it became popular to purchase rooms in townhouses and operate them as private accommodations, but the tightening of regulations under the new law on private accommodations in 2006 and the COVID-19 crisis have made it almost impossible to operate private accommodations in the black market. Many of these former owners of black-market accommodations rent out their rooms to illegal sex industry operators. There are also intermediaries who match both parties.

As a result, prostitution is rampant in “Musako” in Musashi-Kosugi and in tower blocks in the bay area such as Toyosu and Ariake.

It would be a terrible thing if prostitution were taking place in a room next door to a tower block purchased with a loan of tens of millions of yen. Hirotaro Kato, a lawyer at Kato & Asakawa Law Office, said, “There are men’s esthetic salons that do not offer sexual services.

No license or notification is required to open a men’s esthetic salon that does not offer sexual services. However, many apartment complexes have rules that prohibit that type of business in the apartment building, so it is a violation of the contract. Also, if they are engaged in prostitution or sexual services, they will be charged with violating the Anti-Prostitution Law or the Entertainment Business Law.”

Still, evicting them is not easy. Housing journalist Junji Sakaki speaks up.

The fact that a condominium has become a den of illegal sex services will lead to a decline in property values, so owners are reluctant to involve the police in such matters. Illegal sex business operators are probably taking this into account as well.

Illegal sex traffickers who enter unnoticed are more troublesome than termites.

From the December 30, 2022 issue of “FRIDAY