Kabukicho Host Brothers’ Malicious Scheme Leads 19-Year-Old Girl to Sex Shop

The only good thing about him is his face. How pathetic are these brothers?

On June 22nd, Shintaro Obokata (25), who was working at the host club “SINCE YOU… α” in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, and his brother, Gyoshiro (28), were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department Security Division on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Law for introducing a female customer, who was 19 at the time, to a soapland in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture.

“The victim girl in October ’22, while walking through Kabukicho, was approached by suspect Shintaro. Concealing his identity as a host, Shintaro. exchanged LINE contacts with the victim and after multiple dates revealed his occupation as a host, eventually persuading her to visit his club. Unable to drink alcohol as a minor, she always drank oolong tea at the establishment.

Despite primarily earning income from part-time work and lacking financial means to frequent host clubs, Shintaro repeatedly requested and ordered expensive champagne, accumulating expenses of around 4.6 million yen over about a year, with outstanding debts swelling to about 2.7 million yen. Thanks to the victim, Shintaro reportedly celebrated achieving record sales figures, expressing joy via LINE: ‘I hit triple digits for the first time.'” (National newspaper social affairs reporter)

However, the 19-year-old girl did not have the financial means to repay the outstanding debt of 2.7 million yen. Fearing the collection of debts, suspect Shintaro resorted to coercive measures.

“He threatened the girl, saying that it will lead to prostitution, and attempted to make her borrow money from a consumer finance company by saying, ‘If you can’t ask your parents for help, you’ll have to borrow from places like that. However, as the application was rejected, he consulted with his brother, Gyoshiro, and through an acquaintance in the sex industry scouting business, they arranged for the girl to work at a soapland.

Shintaro sent shocking messages via LINE to the girl, such as ‘Your working hours are from 12:00 to 24:00. Looks like there are already reservations. You’re quite reliable. It’s quite a long shift. Do your best. (Write a photo diary) right after you finish serving,'” said an investigator.

The incident came to light last November when the girl consulted the Metropolitan Police Department. In February of this year, Shintaro was arrested on suspicion of violating Tokyo’s scamming ordinance for forcibly collecting money. Although he was not prosecuted, both brothers were subsequently arrested together, as described at the beginning.

The cost of achieving his first triple-digit earnings through such malicious means was significant.