<figure id="attachment_469035" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469035" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="baa7fa87"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/cc4490fd804a9cbd30a79aa14578eab5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469035" class="wp-caption-text">A health building in Susukino, Sapporo. Just as there are huge &#8220;mega-prostitutes&#8221; in Germany, there are also sex buildings in Japan (2003).</figcaption></figure>
<p> Akira Ikoma, a sex industry journalist, wrote a series of articles, &#8220;Sex Trafficking and the State,&#8221; on the regulation of sex trafficking in countries around the world. In the second part of this series, we introduce the case of Germany. In the second part of the series, we introduce the case of Germany, which is also called &#8220;Europe&#8217;s brothel.</p>
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<p><a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/469010"> Part 1: &#8220;What would happen if we legalized it? Achievements and Challenges of the Sex Trafficking &#8220;Legalization Model&#8221; in the Netherlands</a></p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Sex trafficking has been made visible.</span></h3>
<p> Among the countries that have legalized sex trafficking, Germany has more state intervention than the Netherlands. It is also called the &#8220;regulatory model&#8221; because it imposes detailed regulations through laws and ordinances.</p>
<p> The sex trade is considered a &#8220;necessary evil,&#8221; and based on the idea that <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;if it is not going to disappear anyway, it is better to control it,&#8221;</span> it is placed under the control and regulation of the state. Each municipality has established areas where prostitution is allowed (zoning) and imposes penalties for illegal operations to ensure that prostitution is thoroughly controlled. In most cities, the areas and hours of operation are regulated.</p>
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<p> Sex workers are considered registered workers. Their earnings are taxed and they are obligated to undergo medical examinations. They must be regularly tested for STDs and carry a health certificate.</p>
<p> Advantages include bringing sex workers under public control, bringing them within the framework of social security and legal protection, and protecting their health and safety.</p>
<p> In &#8217;17, the Law for the Protection of Prostitutes, which further protects the rights of sex workers, came into effect. Sex traffickers are now required to &#8220;submit a business plan to the authorities&#8221; and &#8220;prohibit advertisements promoting sex with pregnant women,&#8221; while sex workers and prostitutes are required to &#8220;use condoms.</p>
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<p> The sex industry in Germany is relatively &#8220;visible. Advertising of prostitution services is legal, and advertising and promotion on websites and in the media is permitted. The streets are filled with advertisements for sex trafficking, and in Cologne, it is said that when exiting the train station, one can see cabs with advertisements of major sex traffickers plastered on them. In Berlin, there were buses and trucks with huge advertisements for sex traffickers, as well as road bridges with huge advertisements for major sex traffickers.</p>
<p> Germany also has many TV programs that promote pornography and sex trafficking. These programs have a positive view of sex trafficking, with sex workers <span class="strongInContent">talking about how much they love what they do and how exciting it is</span>. Sex worker owners appear in the media as &#8220;successful businessmen&#8221; who make money from a &#8220;clean business,&#8221; and even actors, singers, and athletes visit sex workers without shame.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Sex workers are 10 times more numerous than in France."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_469036" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469036" style="width: 2048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="95d97a95"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/d8a3cc01940d24b7c7111ba063dc3c22.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469036" class="wp-caption-text">Love hotel district in Nihonbashi, Osaka. It is a fierce battleground for business travel-type brothels, and there are always male customers and sex workers around the hotels. The legalization of &#8220;deli-hel&#8221; and &#8220;hotehel&#8221; services has increased the number of customers using love hotels and stimulated the local economy (&#8217;23).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Various Sexual Customs in Germany</span></h3>
<p> In Germany, prostitution is considered &#8220;necessary for men and good for society at large,&#8221; and being a prostitute is nothing to be ashamed of. It is even said that the law encourages the act of prostitution. If the law endorses it, more people will use it. One example of this is that young men celebrating their graduation from high school have come together to engage in prostitution at sex clubs.</p>
<p> In Germany, the legalization of sex trafficking in 2002 expanded the market, and many people entered the sex industry. As a result, it is estimated that there are about 400,000 sex workers in Germany, which is about 10 times as many as in France. Germany, where all forms of sex trafficking are legal, has been called the &#8220;brothel of Europe.</p>
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<p> There are two types of government-approved brothels: &#8220;Eros Centers&#8221; and &#8220;FKK (F-Ka-Ka). The Eros Center offers services in a building that looks like a small apartment building, while the FKK is a large sauna facility where you negotiate with a woman and play with her. In Hamburg&#8217;s Reeperbahn sex district, huge Eros centers in flashy colors line the streets. The brothels are located near banks and restaurants, similar to those in Sapporo and Nagoya in Japan.</p>
<p> There are &#8220;mega-prostitutes&#8221; in Munich and Berlin that can accommodate 650 people at once. Such establishments offer &#8220;early bird specials&#8221; that include a hamburger, beer, and sex, or discount services such as &#8220;two for the price of one&#8221; or &#8220;happy hour.</p>
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<p> One adult entertainment chain may offer gambling games in which customers can perform sex acts for free in order to attract customers. Some also provide customers with a loyalty card, offering a 50% discount for five visits, and one free visit for 10 visits. The various discounts and events are no different from those offered by Japanese sex stores.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Eliminating the most vulnerable"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_469130" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469130" style="width: 1919px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fc332055"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/538590c863c57e113736a63e29e6d552.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469130" class="wp-caption-text">The sex industry district in Tsuji, Naha. Okinawa, which attracts many tourists every year, also has a number of mainland-capitalized sex establishments. Not only do many mainland women work in the brothels, but many tourists also come to play there (&#8217;19).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Problems with Legalization in Germany</span></h3>
<p> However, there are many problems with the legalization of sex trafficking. The most important of these is that it excludes the most vulnerable, such as immigrants and the poor, from the &#8220;legal sex trade,&#8221; thus making them illegal again.</p>
<p> In addition to legalizing the traders, Germany has made sex workers regular employees and given them access to social benefits. However, only a few actually registered as sex workers. Most were unable to comply with legalization because of their immigrant status or because of the costs that were a prerequisite for registration, such as paying taxes, social insurance, and health insurance.</p>
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<p> Many of those marginalized by legalization are in a precarious position, unable to receive the protections and benefits that would have been offered to them. Legalization was intended to make sex work visible through regulation, but in reality, it has created a double structure in which not a small number of people are left invisible.</p>
<p> The problems of exploitation, forced labor, and violence are constantly pointed out in the German sex trade. The influx of immigrants from poor countries and the problem of human trafficking are also becoming more serious. Not only feminists who aim to eradicate sex trafficking, but even pro-sex work groups <span class="strongInContent">say that legalization in Germany is not desirable</span>. The fact that the sex industry has become so large, attracting many people from home and abroad, is also a major problem for public safety.</p>
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<p> Legalization of sex trafficking&#8221; means, in effect, &#8220;legalization of the business activities of sex traffickers. The German example shows that this will result in <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;an increase in the number of prostitutes,&#8221; &#8220;entry of new operators,&#8221; &#8220;intensified competition among operators,&#8221; &#8220;provision of cheap and extreme services that do not consider the safety and dignity of sex workers,&#8221; and &#8220;violation of the safety and dignity of sex workers</span>. The same thing happened in Japan after the legalization of business trip-type sex stores in &#8217;98.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Should Japan legalize them?"></div>
<figure id="attachment_469038" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469038" style="width: 1919px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="56673596"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/412c4b0fa1216b5a54fab387ad36fd82.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469038" class="wp-caption-text">The entertainment district of Nishi-Kawaguchi, Saitama. In the past, illegal stores called &#8220;Monsaro&#8221; were seen throughout the city while legal stores were located in one area near the station. It is said that legalization will not only increase the number of legal stores, but also increase the number of illegal stores (&#8217;02).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> In theory, it could work&#8230;</span></h3>
<p> Looking at examples from other countries, it is clear that legalization has great theoretical benefits for the nation, such as &#8220;transparency in the sex industry&#8221; and &#8220;tax collection,&#8221; but in practice, &#8220;not everything works out in the end. In practice, however, it is clear that &#8220;all is not well&#8221; and that &#8220;everything is not well.&#8221; It is not as easy to manage and control sex trafficking through detailed regulations as it may seem on the surface, and there are many problems involved.</p>
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<p> In today&#8217;s Japan, it would be difficult to completely legalize sex trafficking. The Anti-Prostitution Law was enacted in 1956, the result of more than 80 years of campaigning for the abolition of prostitution since the Meiji era. With street prostitution becoming a social problem in Tokyo and Osaka, and the government considering punishing not only prostitutes but also prostitutes, it is impossible for the state to approve sex trafficking.</p>
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<p> Currently, ad trucks advertising jobs at adult entertainment establishments are a problem in many municipalities across Japan, <span class="strongInContent">as they &#8220;spoil the scenery.</span> In such a situation in Japan, it would be impossible to advertise sex stores on a large scale like in Germany. From a practical point of view, it would be appropriate to maintain the current &#8220;ambiguous&#8221; form of <span class="strongInContent">legalization</span> for the time being <span class="strongInContent">, i.e., &#8220;prohibit them under the Anti-Prostitution Law to suppress sexual disorder, and permit them under the Entertainment Establishments Control Law to maintain public safety, secure tax revenues, and gain other benefits from legalization</span>.</p>

<p> Reference</p>
<p> Sex Work Studies, SWASH (ed.), Nippon Hyoronsha, 2018.</p>
<p> The Original Theory of Sexual Self-Determination,&#8221; Shinji Miyadai, Yukiko Hayami, Naoei Yamamoto, Yoshiko Miya, Seiji Fujii, Hiroaki Hirano, Noriko Kanazumi, Yuji Hirano, Kinokuniya Shoten, 1998.</p>
<p> Sex for Sale,&#8221; Ronald Weitzer (editor), Miki Kishida (translator), Goichi Matsuzawa (editor), Pot Publishing, 2004</p>
<p> Zero Overtime, Zero Tuition, and a Prosperous Country: The Netherlands&#8221;, Naoko Richters, Kobunsha, 2008</p>
<p> In addition, numerous other books and online media were referenced.</p>


 Akira Ikoma

 What is the reality in Germany, a country that has legalized sex trafficking? This is the second part of the second series of articles by sex trade journalist Akira Ikoma, who examines sex trafficking regulations in countries around the world and asks how such regulations should be enforced in Japan.

 Sex Trafficking and the State in the World (Part 2)

Legalization of sex trafficking has made the sex industry a major industry&#8230;Germany, the &#8220;brothel of Europe,&#8221; is facing a &#8220;darkness&#8221; in the sex trade.

Legalization of sex trafficking has made the sex industry a major industry…Germany, the “brothel of Europe,” is facing a “darkness” in the sex trade.

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