I am a Vietnamese girl bar pioneer”…29-year-old female business owner who illegally worked as a waitress, “cute” and reputedly a true picture.

“Let’s have a drink.

“Good evening. Please drop by.

Walking through the entertainment district of Yushima (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo), one is accosted in broken Japanese by women dressed in ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese costume. In recent years, the number of snack bars and adult entertainment establishments staffed by these women has increased rapidly. They stand in front of their stores and invite male customers.

Mr. Mitsuru Nakamura, chairman of Yushima’s “Shiraume Shotenkai” (white plum shopkeepers’ association), tells us, “Originally, Yushima was a geisha town.

Originally, Yushima was a flower district with an atmosphere where there were many geisha. Gradually, however, demand for ryotei restaurants declined, and the owner sold the land. Mixed-use buildings began to be built on the site, and the area became a drinking district with snack bars and other establishments where foreign women worked. Women from Korea, China, Russia, the Philippines, and many other countries began to gather here, and recently many of them are Vietnamese.

There is a lot of trouble among Vietnamese. I guess they are competing for customers. Store managers get into fights with each other and ……. They are not a member of a shopping association, so I don’t know what is really going on. In order to reduce the number of troubles, we cooperate with the police and local government and conduct patrols to improve the environment two to three times a month.”

Sales of 440 million yen over 5 years

Trouble with Vietnamese has become a police matter. By November 11, the Security Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested a Vietnamese national, Zuong Thi Minh Hong, 29, a restaurant manager, on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (encouraging illegal employment). Sixteen women of the same nationality, including staff members, were also taken into custody for illegally remaining in Japan or engaging in activities outside their status.

The suspect ran a girls’ bar called “Queen,” which opened in Yushima about four or five years ago. It opened in Yushima about four or five years ago and became popular as a place where Vietnamese women served customers, which was still rare at that time, and now has five outlets in Roppongi, Kanda, and other areas.

The suspect was arrested between July and October 2012 for illegally employing Vietnamese women who were not allowed to work in adult entertainment establishments. The store had about 50 employees, and its sales amounted to about 440 million yen during the five years from March 2007 to September 2012. The suspect has made statements to the police saying that he is a pioneer of Vietnamese girl bars and boasting about his management skills.

However, it seems that “Queen” was a girl’s bar in name only.

She was not behind a counter, but sat next to male customers and offered them drinks. It is not a girl’s bar, but in reality a sex store like a cabaret club. The female staff sometimes demanded their own drinks or asked for a nomination fee. Since many of the women were of the simple type, I heard that the stores were crowded day after day with middle-aged and older men.

Two Reasons for the Increase in Vietnamese Women’s Shops

The arrested suspect, Duong, was a woman who was called “Dung-chan” in the store and had a reputation for being “cute. The photographer for this magazine photographed the suspect immediately after her arrest. Before entering the police station, she brushed back her long hair and then turned her head down to hide her true face.

Why are more and more Vietnamese women working in girls’ bars and brothels? A writer who is familiar with the sex industry says, “In recent years, Vietnamese women working in Japan have become more and more popular.

In recent years, the number of Vietnamese women working in Japan has been increasing rapidly. There are two main reasons why they work in bars and brothels. One is the low wages for the work they do. If they work in car parts factories, for example, they cannot expect to earn that much. If they work in a brothel, they can earn a large amount of money, such as a nomination fee or a portion of the cost of drinks ordered by customers.

Second is community. Many of the girls from Vietnam feel lonely in Japan, where the culture and language are different. If they work in a place where there are only Vietnamese women, they will feel at ease. The suspect, Duong, came to Japan about 10 years ago to study abroad and studied business administration. I believe he noticed the plight of Vietnamese women and opened their girls’ bar in Yushima, where he lives nearby and knows the district well.”

Currently, the number of Vietnamese living in Japan is second only to the Chinese at around 560,000. While their interaction with the Japanese is growing, trouble is also increasing.