Shinjuku Kabukicho’s Persistent Financial Troubles from Account Receivable to Advance

Due to financial troubles occurring in host clubs, where female customers are charged high fees and burdened with debt, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has announced that it will submit a revised Public Morals Law in the 2025 Diet session, which includes a ban on romantic sales. Romantic sales refer to a method where host clubs exploit customers’ romantic feelings by hinting at a broken relationship and using those emotions to extort large sums of money.

Regarding financial troubles, in April 2024, the host club industry association established self-regulatory rules, including the abolition of accounts payable (credit-based payments), a prohibition on debt collection by family members or third parties, and a ban on new customers under the age of 20. These measures were aimed at improving the industry’s integrity. However, in November of the same year, a 24-year-old host was arrested on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law for attempting to have a customer engage in prostitution to collect on unpaid debts, demonstrating that harm from malicious hosts continues.

Accounts receivable has become advances

In the host clubs of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho, it was once common practice for customers to pay for their food and drinks on credit. Although this practice, known as accounts payable, was supposed to have been abolished through self-regulation, it seems that it still exists under a different name. A regular host club customer, A, shared that their host (the one they personally selected) told them, “Accounts payable has been abolished, but now it’s called advance payment.”

“With accounts payable, the customer borrowed money from the club, and the host was expected to ensure that the debt was collected. With advance payment, the host personally covers the customer’s debt. In other words, it’s a personal debt between the customer and the host. The fact that the customer is still burdened with debt hasn’t changed,” A explained.

Posts on online forums and social media by host club customers still frequently mention phrases like, “Can I get an advance payment here?” “○○ (host’s name) is pulling money through accounts payable and fraud,” and “They make women sell their bodies through romantic sales and then get them to spend money at the club.” These comments suggest that the problematic practices persist.

Small debts are now easier to obtain

Since the change from accounts payable to advance payment, one notable change has been the ease with which debt can be incurred. B (in their 20s) shared that because the debt is now directly with the host, many women who had never taken on debt before are now doing so in order to support their hosts.

“Before, high-value accounts payable slips (commonly known as blue slips) could not be issued due to regulations, so large debts were no longer possible. But with advance payment, the interaction is between the customer and the host, not the club. If I said, ‘I don’t have enough today.’ the host might say, ‘I can cover about 30,000 yen,’ and I’d think, ‘That’s not too much.’ It’s become easier to borrow money in smaller amounts, so there’s less hesitation about spending money at the club,” B explained.

Additionally, offerings to show support for the host have increased.

“I’ve heard that the abolition of accounts payable has caused a decrease in individual host sales. When that happens, people try to contribute to their host in other ways. Some people now give gifts like meals or even branded items. There were people like this before, but now it’s a different group of people who are acting with the mindset of, ‘I’ll do this for my host,'” B added.

The rule banning customers under the age of 20 from entering the club also seems to be largely ignored. One female customer, interviewed by Friday Digital, said, “My friend is 20 and I’m 19, but even though our IDs were checked, we were allowed in without any issues.”

Connection with scouts who mediate them to the sex industry

The current situation, where female customers are forced into working in the sex industry or engaging in prostitution by malicious hosts, has not changed. The background to this issue lies in the inseparable relationship between hosts, scouts, and host-obsessed customers. Scouts find it crucial to work with hosts to make money. H, who previously worked as a scout, explains:

“I used to arrange for women in financial trouble to work in sex establishments. I would introduce women who wanted to make a large sum of money quickly to places like delivery health or soaplands. If you want to find women deep in debt, asking a host is the quickest way. If the debt becomes too much, the host has to pay it off. I would get hosts to introduce women in debt to me, and then I would arrange for them to work in the sex industry. Hosts make a good extra income from receiving a kickback for the introduction.”

Since the ban on accounts payable, sales have decreased, and more hosts are doubling as scouts. While some host clubs or scout groups forbid this dual role, it’s still happening.

There are also cases where women are made to engage in prostitution outside of clubs, such as through street prostitution. S, a former host in Kabukicho, explains the reasoning:

“It’s easier to manage when it’s done outside of a club. Without the store in the middle, it’s clear how much money the women have earned. Street prostitution, for example, can earn between 15,000 yen to 20,000 yen per client. Depending on how many clients they have in a day, all the money goes straight into the woman’s wallet. Since there’s no middleman taking a cut, it’s easier to keep track, and it’s more convenient for the host to make the woman work off her debt. For example, they might say, ‘You need 400,000 yen by the end of the month, so sleep with 20 clients.'”

Self-regulation began after the situation of hosts forcing customers into debts and prostitution was exposed. However, it seems that the exploitation of money earned by women in the sex industry continues in many cases. Whether the proposed revision to the Public Morals Law, which includes banning romantic sales, will be effective remains to be seen.