Strict Punishment for Men Who Buy Women for Money! Abolition” vs. “Legalization”: Learning from Overseas Examples, “Sex Trafficking Prohibition” is Right or Wrong?

There are growing calls for the “decriminalization of prostitution.” In November ’25, a 12-year-old girl of Thai nationality was found to have been forced to perform sexual services at a private massage parlor in Yushima, Tokyo. The incident revealed that the girl had serviced about 60 customers over a period of about a month, and the accusation was leveled not only against the massage parlor owner but also against the customers. The incident prompted politicians and women’s support groups in Japan to call for the punishment of not only the “sellers” but also the “buyers.

In November of the same year, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi to study the regulation of prostitution at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, because the current Anti-Prostitution Law has no provision to punish those who buy. The Ministry of Justice will establish a study group including experts in March to begin discussions on a review of the Anti-Prostitution Law.

Is prostitution really something that should be punished? We would like to discuss this point, citing examples of crackdowns on sex and entertainment in other countries. For the sake of brevity and clarity, we will assume that “sex buyers = men” and “sex sellers = women.

The Nordic Model

Currently, there are two major conflicting views on sex trafficking (prostitution and sex entertainment) in the world.

One is “abolitionism. This is sex trafficking (sexual exploitation). The other is the “sex work theory” (abolitionism), which is the idea that the demand for sex work should be eradicated and the system itself should be abolished.

The other is the “sex work theory. This is work (occupation). Let’s protect the rights of workers, remove them from punishment, and improve the environment.

The abolitionists support the “Nordic model,” which punishes the buyers and not the sellers. Sweden was the first country in the world to criminalize prostitution in 1999. Since then, the number of countries that have adopted the Nordic model has increased, including Norway in 2009, Canada in 2002, France in 2004, the Republic of Ireland in 2005, and Israel in 2007. increased.

In Sweden, street prostitution has been reduced by half in 10 years, and overall prostitution has been curbed compared to neighboring countries. The law’s reported achievements include a decrease in the number of street prostitutes and a positive moral impact on the population (the penetration of the social norm that “prostitution is evil”).

However, there are many who criticize the law as a failure. In Sweden, Canada, and other countries, the following problems have been pointed out since the law came into effect.

Women are forced to work in secluded places because men are afraid of being caught, and they are forced to go to places chosen by customers, which puts them in a dangerous environment.

The possibility of landlords and hoteliers being accused of pimping has led to women being evicted from their residences, reducing the number of safe spaces in which they can work.

Foreign women (immigrants without permanent residence permits), who make up the majority of sex workers in the Nordic countries, are afraid of the police for fear of deportation and are effectively excluded from state services such as social security and public health care, which prevents them from quitting prostitution.

The social stigma that fixes women as “victims” is reinforced, and discrimination and exclusion have increased.

In France, the number of women standing on the streets decreased after the Law on Punishment of Prostitution was enforced, but the number of women waiting for customers in the dark forests, where they are difficult to be seen, increased. Many women are forced to lead impoverished lives due to the decrease in customers.

It is said that the Nordic model has rather “made them underground and increased the danger.

Korea punishes not only the buyers but also the sellers. When the Special Sex Trafficking Law, which punishes prostitution, was enacted in 2004, prostitution districts were rounded up. As a result, sex trafficking went underground, including the use of chat applications. In addition, women began migrating to Japan, the U.S., and other countries, and men began going overseas to play. The sex trafficking has not decreased in the slightest.

Germany’s Failure to “Legalize” Sex Trafficking

On the other hand, major problems are occurring in Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany, which have recognized sex trafficking as legitimate labor and legalized it. Legalization has created a two-tier structure in which “only some women who are recognized as legitimate labor can work legally, while many others are left behind, criminalized,” according to the report.

In Germany, vendors and women must register with the government, and if they refuse to register because they do not want their surroundings to be known, they cannot continue working. In addition to these privacy concerns, many are unable to follow the legalization model due to their status as illegal immigrants and the cost of compliance with the law.

This has led to an increase in the number of illegal stores operating without permits. Women are under threat of police surveillance and detection, and are forced into a precarious environment where exploitation and violence are likely to occur.

In Germany, legalization in 2002 led to an increase in the number of sex industry operators. Excessive competition has led to lower wages and stores with poor labor standards. In other words, the same thing happened as in Japan’s deli-help industry. In addition, advertisements for sex traffickers flooded the streets, and buses and cabs began to run with advertisements for major sex traffickers.

In 2009, a “fixed-price sex trafficking chain” called “Pussy Club” appeared. The idea was that “for a certain amount of money, you can have as much sex as you want. On the first day of its opening, about 1,700 men lined up in line. Prices started at 70 euros (about 13,000 yen at the current exchange rate), and the customers could use the shop “for as long as possible. A service was also introduced that allowed one woman to deal with several customers at the same time. These are harsh for women. Many women collapsed from exhaustion and pain, which became a problem, and in ’16 the German parliament banned them by law.

As a result, it was the sex traffickers and men who got the good end of the deal, and the women were not assured of their safety or dignity. Legalization of sex trafficking meant, in effect, “legalization of the business activities of sex traffickers. Germany has been called the “brothel of Europe.

The Third Solution “Decriminalization

After all, neither “abolition” nor “legalization” is a definitive solution at present. Amnesty International, an international human rights organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, recommends a “decriminalization model” that does not criminalize prostitution in the first place.

Unlike the legalization model, which permits sex trafficking only within the scope of sex-specific laws, the decriminalization model does not criminalize prostitution itself. The “freedom of labor” of sex workers is guaranteed, and sex trafficking is regulated by general laws such as the Labor Standards Law, just like other service industries. Many labor advocates of the sex work theory consider the legalization model a “failure” and recommend this decriminalization model as a “superior success story.

New Zealand, New South Wales, Australia, and Belgium have adopted this model, and while some say that it has “created a transparent sex industry and produced positive results in terms of women’s health, human rights, and safety,” many others say that “the reality is not much different from the legalization model. Others point out that it will not solve the problem of sexual exploitation of the socially vulnerable. While the spirit is “idealistic,” it is not a panacea that will solve all problems.

Should Japan Punish Prostitution?

When considering the pros and cons of “decriminalizing prostitution” in light of examples from other countries, the author’s answer is “no.” This is because it would put women in even greater danger and would lead to poverty. This is because the examples of countries that have adopted the Nordic model show that it puts women in even greater danger and impoverishes them. The Nordic model, which reduces the number of quality customers as was the case during the COVID-19 crisis, is not likely to “make sex workers happy.

That does not mean that we should “legalize” or “decriminalize” them. Both would be difficult to achieve in Japan, where the crackdown on sex industry is currently being tightened.

In this light, the best solution would be to have an “either/or” system, with the Anti-Prostitution Law making it illegal and the Entertainment Establishments Law making it legal.

The Anti-Prostitution Law prohibits sex trafficking and discourages traffickers, preventing the appearance of excessive services such as those seen in Germany, and curbing the increase in illegal stores and street prostitution. At the same time, the Entertainment Establishments Control Law is used to control the flood of sexually oriented businesses while satisfying demand and generating tax revenue. In this way, the government is able to “get the best of both worlds” (illegal and legal).

This legal structure was built up over a long period of time after World War II, and the ambiguous form of ” tacit approval + management and control” seems to suit the Japanese culture and national character.

The Scandinavian model causes “too much invisibility,” while the legalization and decriminalization models cause “too much visibility. The “Japanese model,” which combines elements of both models, is superior in that it is ” half visible and half invisible.

However, this does not mean that the current “Japanese model” is without problems. The Thai girl case mentioned at the beginning of this paper, as well as other social problems such as Tokryu and malicious hosts have occurred, and efforts to solve problems such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, and human rights violations are essential.

A realistic response would be to basically maintain the current legal system and amend laws to solve social problems in a timely manner, as has been done in the past. Needless to say, it is even more important to improve the social structure that creates problems, even more so than to improve the legal system.