Insights from Tobita Shinchi on the Kansai Expo’s Effect on the New District

A prostitution bust in Matsushima Shinchi

By October 15, the Osaka Prefectural Police arrested five individuals, including the management, for violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (solicitation) at a ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) in “Matsushima Shinchi” in Nishi Ward, for facilitating prostitution. The manager was allegedly involved in running a host club and is suspected of having women engage in prostitution when they could no longer pay off their debts. This crackdown seemed to shock many, given the context of the new district.

With the Osaka Kansai Expo set to take place from April 13 to October 13 next year for a total of 184 days, various rumors are circulating about what will happen to Osaka’s chonnomachi area, commonly referred to as the new district. Online, there are voices expressing concern about business operations, with speculation that all establishments might close during the expo or that there might be large-scale crackdowns before the expo begins.

Tobita Shinchi, the largest ryotei district in Osaka, temporarily closed during the G20 Osaka Summit held on June 28-29, 2019, and refrained from business operations to “prevent local confusion” and to ensure that it was a gathering where people would say, “I’m glad it was held in Japan.”

What measures will be taken during the Osaka Kansai Expo in 2025? At the beginning of October, I visited the area to gather firsthand accounts from people in the new district and its surroundings about the potential impact of the expo.

 

A real voice heard in Tobita Shinchi

“I don’t think Tobita Shinchi will close. It operates year-round, doesn’t it?” said a middle-aged local man working at a construction site.

“I don’t know if Tobita Shinchi will close for the expo. I’ll ask a girl I know today,” said a male customer visiting from Tokyo.

I also asked the women working as touts at the ryotei, who are directly involved.

“We haven’t been told anything from the union yet. I don’t know. I think we’ll still be operating. We put up the noren (curtain) during the summit, though. It’s 11,000 yen for 20 minutes. I’ll give you five minutes extra, so come on in,” said a woman from the back street.

“It should be fine; I think we’ll still be open. There might be regulations that require us to put the noren down, though. Come in. This girl is here until 4 o’clock, so she’ll be leaving soon,” said a woman from the main street.

The phrase putting down the noren refers to when, during the G20 Osaka Summit, all establishments displayed large white noren of a unified design in front of their entrances as a form of formal dress, effectively hiding the storefronts. From June 21 to 30, 2019, women could not be seen from the outside, and patrons had to pass through the noren to see and engage with the women. This was done to ensure that visitors from abroad would see a well-ordered streetscape, as considered by the Tobita Shinchi Culinary Association.

There was no mention of the possibility of closing for the expo. The people on-site seemed to feel that they were not worried at all or not concerned.

A number of colorful districts have disappeared in the past.

However, looking back at the past, it is almost a given that crackdowns on entertainment districts occur whenever international events like expos, Olympics, or summits are held. The reasoning is often that they do not want these establishments to be seen by visiting foreigners or that it would be embarrassing from an international standpoint, leading to the elimination of all forms of adult entertainment.

For example, in Osaka, the 1990 Osaka Flower Expo (International Flower and Greenery Exposition) led to the complete closure of soaplands. The sites that once housed soaplands transitioned to health-related establishments, evolving into their current forms. There are no longer any soaplands in Osaka.

Additionally, in the lead-up to the 2008 Lake Toya Summit in Hokkaido, the pink salon district in Sapporo’s Kitaku 24-chome was targeted for crackdowns for security and aesthetic reasons. During the 2016 Ise-Shima Summit, the brothel area on Watawashi Island in Mie Prefecture disappeared. Strict enforcement began about three years prior to the event, causing women involved in the sex industry to leave the island. What was once referred to as “Prostitution Island” and “Nyo-Gokashima” during the Showa to Heisei eras, now completely transformed into a clean, healthy tourist island. More recently, ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the Metropolitan Police conducted a cleansing operation that resulted in concentrated crackdowns on pink salons in the city, leading to the disappearance of popular shops in Ueno and Sugamo.

Moreover, the crackdown on the chon’s ma district in Yokohama’s Golden Town, which began in December 2004, is said to have been aimed at improving the area’s image in preparation for the 150th anniversary event of the opening of Yokohama Port, “Kaikou Hakubay150,” in 2009. The “chon’s ma” in Golden Town was rigorously enforced, resulting in the closure of all establishments by August 2005.

This trend is not unique to Japan; the sex industry worldwide is also significantly affected by large-scale festivals. In Seoul, South Korea, the brothel district was devastated in conjunction with the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. The crackdown was a result of a sense of national shame, as it was deemed inappropriate for the capital, which would be flooded with foreign tourists, to have such outdated establishments still in operation. Thus, both Japan and South Korea have covered up the unpleasantness.

 

What Will Happen to the “New Place”?

In this expo, realistically, a complete shutdown of all establishments for the six months during the event is unlikely. This is because it would not be desirable for the community. The economic impact that the Tobita Shinchi brings to the local community is immeasurable. The operation of the ryotei (traditional Japanese inns) attracts many visitors, increasing commercial profits for surrounding restaurants, accommodation facilities, and transportation, while also contributing significantly to local government revenue through substantial tax payments.

A long-term shutdown of all establishments would bring no benefits to the local residents, those who work in the shinchi, or those who come to enjoy the shinchi. The union is likely to take these factors into account. As long as the management of the union is thorough, those in charge of enforcement will not ignore the interests of the common people and force a complete shutdown.

It is possible that there will be a complete shutdown of all establishments for a certain period before the opening ceremony or during the ceremonies attended by dignitaries from around the world. In Tobita Shinchi, in addition to the aforementioned G20 Osaka Summit in 2019, on September 27, 2021, all establishments shut down in observance of the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, displaying mourning flags on the streets. Additionally, all establishments also closed when Emperor Showa passed away in 1989. While temporary shutdowns or “noren festivals” are possible, a prolonged closure for six months is unlikely to occur due to its significant negative impact on the local economy.

I predict that there will not be a complete shutdown of all establishments leading to a disappearance of people from the streets; instead, the expo will attract foreign visitors who will flock in, resulting in unprecedented prosperity. Just as many foreign visitors flocked to Tokyo’s Yoshiwara pleasure district during the Meiji era, Tobita Shinchi in the Reiwa era is already frequented by numerous foreign visitors as a major attraction in Japan not listed in guidebooks.

On the night I conducted the interview, a group of five white men and six women were guided by a Japanese man speaking English. There were also groups of four white men and five white women. Additionally, there were two South Asian men. Countless men from China and South Korea were present. I can already envision the bustling scene in Tobita Shinchi during the expo, filled with inbound male visitors enjoying their long-awaited pilgrimages to sacred sites and foreign women visiting for educational purposes.

In the [next part], I will introduce three relatively small shinchi: Shinodayama, Imazato, and Takii, among Osaka’s five major shinchi. While attention tends to focus on the glamorous Tobita Shinchi and Matsushima Shinchi, each of the other shinchi has its own unique charm. I will report on the basic information and characteristics of these lesser-known shinchi while sharing the current status of each and the voices of the locals regarding the expo.