The Modern History of Street Prostitution: How COVID-19 Shaped Okubo Park and Tobita Shinchi

“Standing prostitution,” the most primitive form of the sex trade. The connection girls in Shinjuku’s Okubo Park have recently gained attention in the media, but their history is long. This is the fifth installment in a series by sex industry journalist Akira Ikoma, tracing the history of standing prostitution from the Edo period to the present day.

Connection girls who increased during the COVID-19 pandemic

In the previous installment, I explained the street prostitution situation in the Heisei era, when foreign women were the main participants. The streetwalkers, including women from Asia, South America, and Europe, as well as Japanese women, made Heisei-era street prostitution quite international. This was due to Japan’s significant economic growth in the late Showa period, which led to an increase in women coming to Japan for work from overseas. This time, we will look at the rise of young Japanese women in the Reiwa era’s street prostitution, which became prominent due to the unprecedented disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most well-known street prostitution spot in Reiwa is the area around Okubo Park in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo. During the Heisei era, it was referred to as “Behind Heisia” and was mostly frequented by foreign women from Southeast Asia, South America, and older Japanese women. Although there were some young Japanese women in the area around the Heisia building, their numbers were relatively small.

The shift occurred in the early summer of Reiwa 2 (2020). About a month after the first state of emergency declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from the Golden Week in May, the number of women standing on the streets began to increase. Many of these women were young, and they included those who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, sex workers who were unable to work due to restrictions or a lack of clients, and women who had been engaging in compensated dating or “papa-katsu” but could no longer visit meeting cafes due to business suspensions.

Street prostitution around Okubo Park was referred to as “Kouen” (a slang term derived from “koen” meaning park), and the women standing there were known as “Kouen joshi” (connection girls). The area was safe during the day but changed drastically at night. Women would stand along the guardrails, and men would approach them, offering prostitution. The women would then be taken to one of the nearby love hotels, making this a daily occurrence.

Many media outlets reported on this unusual sight, and women from rural areas who saw it on television or the internet would come to Tokyo to earn money. As more women stood on the street, more men came to seek them out, which led to an increase in the number of women standing on the streets. This spiral continued, and some people, out of curiosity, would visit the area, making Okubo Park slowly start to resemble a tourist spot.

 

A female teacher from an elementary school in Tokyo was also working as a streetwalker here. She started working as a streetwalker around February 2020, and between July and November of the same year, she was selling her body two to three times a week. Her motivation for prostitution was that she had accumulated debts of up to 3 million yen after spending money on underground idol concerts and fashion. Since identification is required to enter dating cafes and adult entertainment establishments, she worked as a streetwalker out of fear that her occupation would be revealed. She was arrested red-handed in November 2020 and February 2021, and her dismissal in September 2021 was reported in the media, causing a public uproar.

There were also foreign female and cross-dressed male street prostitutes, continuing from the Heisei era. Foreigners mainly stood on the west side of Hygeia, so they did not overlap with the Japanese who mainly stood on the north side near Okubo Park, and so they lived separately.

Inbound tourism flooding into tourist destinations

The reason they choose to work as street prostitutes (tachinbo) instead of in brothels is that “it’s a quick way to make money” and “it’s easy and efficient.” In a brothel, they first need to be hired. Even after being employed, there is a lot of waiting time, and they must show up at fixed hours. They can’t choose their clients, and they don’t get to keep all the money the client pays. However, with street prostitution, there’s no need for interviews, no time constraints, and it’s easy to do with good earnings.

The rumors and attraction of Okubo Park cross national borders. By the summer of 2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided, there was a sharp increase in inbound male tourists coming to witness the scene. While many from Europe and the U.S. were there for curiosity, men from Asia, such as China, the Philippines, and India, were buying young Japanese women.

Such scenes were not seen in the 1990s. Over the last 30 years, Asian countries have become wealthier, and relatively speaking, Japan has become poorer.

For the “kōen joshi” (women working as street prostitutes in Okubo Park), foreign clients were attractive because they didn’t pose the risk of being undercover police and there was no need for lengthy conversations. Some even tipped more than the usual amount, making them popular. There were also illegal establishments in Kabukicho that would scout street prostitutes or cater specifically to foreign customers.

Although police patrols were frequent, the situation was a cat-and-mouse game, where, after a crackdown, the activity would return. However, law enforcement gradually intensified, and in April 2024, women were arrested for past actions, even when they were just waiting for clients. This was meant to create a deterrent effect. The women, however, evaded the crackdown by expanding the areas where they waited. A mass crackdown began in October 2024, and by the end of November, 50 women had been arrested. 85% of those arrested were aged between their teens and 30s, with the youngest being just 16.

As part of the intensified crackdown, the guardrails on the north side of the park were removed by the end of February 2025, under the guise of improving traffic safety. This was to prevent women from leaning on the guardrails and standing on the road side, which posed a danger, and to reduce situations where pedestrians could easily walk from the road to the sidewalk. Patrolling has also become more frequent, and “kōen joshi” have started to move to nearby hotel districts or Ikebukuro to wait for clients. Some women, called “arukinbo” (those who negotiate while walking), or others, called “suwarinbo” (those sitting under shop eaves), can be found engaging in these activities. As a result of these intensified measures, the number of street prostitutes around Okubo Park has dramatically decreased.

What is not unlike Tobita Shinchi?

When looking at the series of events surrounding street prostitution in the Okubo Park area from a broader perspective, what occurred is strikingly similar to the situation in Tobita Shinchi. “There are women visible in public spaces, and people who want to take photos show up,” “Young and attractive women gather because it’s an efficient way to earn money,” “There are regular customers, and they are joined by first-time customers and spectators,” “Not only Japanese people but also inbound tourists flock to the area”—many commonalities can be observed.

The key difference lies in the presence of stores, and this seemed to determine whether or not the area survived. In Tobita Shinchi, having established stores means that even if activities are legally gray, the local police generally tolerate the businesses due to their long-standing contribution to the community. While there is always the possibility of a mass crackdown that could lead to the area’s dissolution, the presence of stores provides a buffer, protecting the women working there.

Street prostitution, however, lacks this connection to the local community. It avoids taxes and disrupts public order, making it disliked by local residents. This is the fundamental issue.

The rise and fall of the Okubo Park street prostitution area offers a close look at the birth, prosperity, decline, and disappearance of a red-light district. Its peak lasted only about five years, and as the area gradually disappeared due to crackdowns, it symbolized the fragility of illegal underground red-light districts.

“Report on Street Prostitution in Kabukicho,” Shota Harumasu, Chikuma Shobo, 2023
“COVID-19 and Impoverished Women,” Atsuhiko Nakamura, Takarajimasha, 2020
“Corona and Sex Workers,” Takaaki Yagisawa, Soshisha, 2021
“Kabukicho Corona Chronicle,” Sho Haneda, Asuka Shinsha, 2021
“Report on Kabukicho,” Kunio Kuniya, Saizusha, 2023
Additionally, various books, magazines, and online media were referenced.
In the second part, Ikoma explains in detail why street prostitution increased in the Reiwa era, as well as the situation in Osaka and Yokohama.

[Part 2] Even in Osaka and Yokohama. “Three Reasons” Why Street Prostitution, the Most Primitive Form of Sex Work, Increased in the Reiwa Era.