Why Standing Prostitutes Have Increased in the Reiwa Era The Three Key Reasons

The fifth installment of a serial by sex industry journalist Akira Ikoma tracing the history of standing prostitutes, from the night hawks of the Edo period to the modern-day “Kōen-joshi” (prostitutes offering companionship), which have recently become a social issue in the Reiwa era. In the second part, Ikoma reflects on standing prostitutes in places other than Tokyo, such as Osaka and Yokohama, and revisits the history of the practice to explore why standing prostitutes, the most primitive form of prostitution, have proliferated in the Reiwa era.

[Part 1] The “Kōen-joshi” born from the disaster of COVID-19 at Okubo Park, and the bright and dark sides  separated by Tobita Shinchi.

 

The standing prostitutes at Umeda “Fountain Square” in Osaka, whose distinction from ordinary people was difficult

The rise of standing prostitutes in the Reiwa era has been a significant issue not just in Tokyo, but also in Osaka, where the police response to the increasing street prostitution stirred public debate.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Osaka Prefectural Police arrested 61 standing prostitutes in a year-long operation. The location was the “Fountain Square” in the underground shopping area Whity Umeda in Umeda. Previously, there was a space around the fountain where people could sit, making it a popular meeting spot. While many people used the space, the presence of street prostitutes constantly waiting for clients was a source of distress for local residents and restaurant workers. The crackdown was the result of the determination of investigators who were committed to correcting the public morals.

Standing prostitutes had been present in Fountain Square at least since around 2005. Due to their unique customer-waiting style, where they “Simply wait until being approached”, it was difficult to definitively label them as prostitutes, leaving investigators in a dilemma. The women arrested ranged in age from 17 to 64, and came not only from Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo but also from more distant places like Nagasaki and Kagawa. More than half were unemployed, but there were also students and housewives among them.

Fountain Square was renovated in December 2019, and the fountain that had once been its symbol was removed to make way for new shops. Since then, it has been bustling with people day and night, yet on occasion, women resembling standing prostitutes still appear. Once such a custom becomes ingrained, it’s not easily erased.

By making the atmosphere of the town brighter, standing prostitutes decreased by 90%

After the crackdowns from 2019 to 2020, the standing prostitutes at Fountain Square moved to the love hotel district in Umeda. In the street commonly known as “American Street”, which is about 4 meters wide and 100 meters long, the number of women waiting for clients began to increase around the fall of Reiwa 4 (2022). Women in their early twenties were most prominent, but there were also some who appeared to be 18 or in their 40s. Since the summer of Reiwa 5 (2023), about 30 arrests have been made on charges of violating the Prostitution Prevention Law, drawing attention to the issue.

In an effort to curb the increasingly serious situation of standing prostitutes, the Osaka Prefectural Police’s Sonezaki Station repainted the entire street yellow in December of Reiwa 6 (2024). Stickers with illustrations of fish swimming were pasted on the road, and new streetlights were installed in the previously dim area to brighten the atmosphere. This was a strategy that utilized the psychology of “people who dislike standing out.” This measure proved highly effective, and within four months, the number of standing prostitutes decreased by about 90%.

However, prostitution did not disappear entirely. Some of the women who disappeared from the streets moved to encounter bars in order to avoid crackdowns and continued engaging in prostitution. Though they were no longer visible on the streets, they had simply relocated to another spot.

To truly solve the fundamental issue of “eliminating prostitution,” preventive measures that address the women’s circumstances—such as “reducing the number of women who feel they have no choice but to stand on the streets”—are needed, rather than merely resorting to symptomatic treatments like “arresting standing prostitutes.”

In Osaka, there was also a standing prostitute spot in Namba. In November of Reiwa 5 (2023), a simultaneous crackdown was carried out around the Kintetsu Namba Building, which is directly connected to Kintetsu Osaka Namba Station, and four women in their twenties were arrested. At times, up to 20 women were reportedly standing in this area. Other places where street prostitutes were said to be present included the underground shopping area Namba Walk, and under the famous Glico sign in Dotonbori, known as Guri Shita.

Like the encounter women in Shinjuku, many women in Umeda and Namba had become street prostitutes after accumulating large debts from hosting and needed the money quickly. Despite knowing that it was illegal, the immediate reward of receiving money on the spot was hard to resist.

Of course, there were risks involved. Many women experienced dangerous situations, such as “being hit while standing on the street” or “being assaulted after entering a hotel.” There were also men who would run away without paying or get angry, saying, “I’m paying but not getting any service,” and conflicts with clients were constant.

In Yokohama, there are standing prostitutes who are foreigners

In contrast to the young Japanese women flooding areas like Shinjuku, Umeda, and Namba, the largest entertainment district in Yokohama, the Kannai area, was home to a significant number of foreign standing prostitutes from countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Peru. In Wakabacho, about a 10-minute walk from JR Kannai Station, there were reportedly up to 30 women during the spring of Reiwa 5 (2023). There were not only women but also male prostitutes.

The going rate was 15,000 yen, and the location for the services was not a love hotel, but rather an apartment room where the standing prostitutes lived. The surrounding areas of Kannai, including Wakabacho, Sueyoshicho, Akebonochou, Fukutomichou, and Isezakicho, all had spots where street prostitutes gathered, but due to the increase in crackdowns, these activities became more concentrated around Wakabacho.

Sexual acts were not limited to apartments; nearby parking lots and buildings also became sites for such activities, causing local residents to become enraged. As crackdowns continued, the number of street prostitutes in the area sharply decreased for a time. However, after some time, they began to reappear in small numbers, leading to a game of cat and mouse between the authorities and the sex workers.

The characteristic of street prostitution in the Reiwa era is that the age group has dramatically become younger. The appearance of the women has also greatly improved, making them comparable to those working in other adult entertainment industries. Until the Heisei era, street prostitutes were mainly people who were “rejected by adult entertainment establishments.” These included illegal immigrants and older sex workers who were no longer attracting customers, and they were at the lowest level of the hierarchy in the adult entertainment industry.

However, with the advent of the Reiwa era, the traditional “negative image” of street prostitution was overturned. Japanese women who appeared to be ordinary started engaging in it casually, and there were even women who could earn a decent income at adult entertainment establishments. Moreover, women who would have previously worked at high-end brothels, where one would have to spend 30,000 to 50,000 yen to have fun, began selling their services for just 10,000 to 20,000 yen. From the perspective of male customers, the period when the area around Okubo Park was bustling with young women could be called the “golden age of street prostitution.”

Why did street prostitution increase in the Reiwa era?

Finally, I would like to summarize the “Modern History of Street Prostitution.” Looking back at the nearly 400-year history of the evolution of street prostitution from the Edo period to the Reiwa era, it can be seen that poverty has always been the background for the emergence of street prostitution in the past. However, as time progressed, the proportion of poverty diminished, and in its place, “emotional hunger” became much more significant.

In the Edo period, “yotaka” (night hawkers) and in the Meiji period, “shirakubi” (women who sold their bodies) were mostly driven by “financial hardship.” However, after World War II, the “pan-pan” women wanted “a better life,” and in the Reiwa era, the motivation became largely about “wanting funds for their fandom activities.” A significant number of street prostitutes in the Reiwa era were taking on clients to fulfill their “need for validation” by spending money on men.

So, the answer to the question, “Why did street prostitution increase in the 21st century Reiwa era?” can be summarized in three main points:

The first is that “women can now earn large sums of money without being affiliated with a brothel.” After trends like compensated dating, “papa-katsu” (sugar dating), and “urabiki” (where women in the entertainment or sex industries directly receive money from customers without using a business as an intermediary), many women realized that working individually was more profitable.

The second is the younger clientele of host clubs. In the past, wealthy women or sex workers were the primary customers, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, “young women who didn’t have money” increased significantly. This was because host clubs focused on the “latent sexual capital” of young women. As a result, women who became infatuated with the hosts’ romantic business practices were encouraged to engage in prostitution to earn money to give to the hosts, eventually ending up on the streets.

The third reason is that street prostitution is “easy to do.” Since it is as simple as “just standing on the street,” anyone can easily start working at any time. Street prostitution in the Reiwa era increased when many women in the sex industry found themselves in a crisis due to the pandemic. The simplicity of the “street prostitution job” was reevaluated because it was a free and efficient way to make money.

From the Edo period to the Reiwa era, street prostitution has been “the most primitive form” of work, and therefore, it became the “a last resort occupation” for many women who could no longer make a living in other jobs.

In the future, stricter crackdowns may lead to the eradication of street prostitution. However, in times of major crises like war or pandemics, it will likely make a swift comeback. As long as the safety net of street prostitution remains in people’s memories, it will surely reappear.

“Report on Street Prostitution in Kabukicho” by Shota Harumasu, Chikuma Shobo, 2023

“COVID-19 and Poor Women” by Atsuhiko Nakamura, Takarajimasha, 2020

“COVID-19 and Sex Workers” by Takaaki Yagisawa, Sosho Sha, 2021

“Kabukicho Corona War Chronicles” by Sho Hata, Asuka Shinsha, 2021

“Report on Kabukicho” by Koji Kunitomo, Saizusha, 2023

Several other books, magazines, and online media were also referenced.