“If You Don’t Date Me, I’ll Kill You!” Three Active Soapland Workers Speak Out About “Living on the Edge” in Closed Rooms and Clients Who Turn Into Stalkers

There have also been cases where women were threatened with, “If you don’t date me, I’ll kill you!”

In June of this year, an incident occurred at a soapland in Fukuhara (Hyogo Ward, Kobe City)—known as one of Japan’s leading red-light districts—where a female employee and a male customer were found collapsed and bleeding; they were pronounced dead at the hospital to which they were transported.

The woman had multiple wounds on her neck and chest that appeared to be stab wounds, and the man was found with a knife still lodged in his chest. Police are investigating the case, believing it highly likely that the man killed the woman before attempting suicide.

Soapland workers find themselves alone and naked with a client in a private room. While this is a job that requires them to trust and surrender themselves to their clients, that very closeness can sometimes lead to obsession or misunderstandings.

How did women in the same line of work react to this incident in Fukuhara? What fears do they have regarding clients, and what measures are they taking to protect themselves?

Three active soapland workers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s—who work in Yoshiwara (Taito Ward, Tokyo), a soapland district on par with Fukuhara—spoke candidly about the struggle for survival in “private rooms where death is always a possibility.”

I even made up for her lost wages

Sayaka (pseudonym; same below): That incident in Fukuhara… I was shaking when I saw the news.

Yoko: It was scary, wasn’t it?

Sayaka: I have an acquaintance who works at a soapland in Fukuhara, and it seems the woman who died had gotten married just before the incident.

Moe: So, the man flew into a rage when he found out she was married… and that’s why he killed her?

Sayaka: The man used to come to the shop two or three times a week, and apparently called himself a “big spender,” right?

Moe: These days, there aren’t many people who can afford to go to a soapland twice a week. The rates are so high that even for an ordinary salaryman, coming once a month would be tough, wouldn’t it?

Yoko: It seems he even made up for her lost wages on the days she took off from work, so I think he was really into her.

Sayaka: That’s actually kind of scary… Speaking of big spenders, there was this older customer who’d come twice a month, but he suddenly started saying, “If I were younger, you’d marry me, right? You’re the only one who’s ever told me that.”

Yoko: Did you say something that might have given him the wrong idea?

Sayaka: Not at all. I don’t contact customers about anything other than reservations, and I don’t go on dates outside the club. Of course, we hadn’t even talked about marriage, so I really didn’t understand what he meant.

Yoko: So what happened?

Sayaka: I blocked him on LINE, but before I could ban him from the shop, he just casually called to make a reservation…

Moe: I used to have a customer who’d bring me gifts at my house every day, too…

Yoko: Tracking you down to your home—that’s pretty extreme.

Moe: He must have pretended to be a resident to get past the automatic lock. There was a bag hanging on my doorknob filled with my favorite ingredients and hair care products… I recognized him right away because of his distinctive handwriting on the message card. But I didn’t say anything to him.

Yoko: Didn’t you ever run into that client right in front of your house?

Moe: I ran into them once… and on the spot, I pretended to be a drug addict. I spoke slurred and let out strange screams. Being in the drama club in middle school really came in handy (laughs). That client immediately switched to a different girl and posted on an adult services message board, “Don’t book that woman,” so it seems they believed me.

Yoko: A regular who came every week kept begging me to “go out with him,” and when I tried to brush him off, he threw a plastic bottle at the wall.I was too scared to say anything, and he yelled at me, “I’ll threaten the owner of the soapland!” and “If you don’t go out with me, I’ll kill you!” I just said, “I’ll go out with you,” to calm him down, but I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d refused no matter what…

Tragedy has also struck in Yoshiwara, where the three of us work.In 2003, at the long-established high-end soapland “Yuzuki,” a man who claimed he “wanted to die with someone” murdered a female employee. In 2023, a customer who was refused a booking stabbed and killed a female employee. The establishment was known for its thorough “romantic sales tactics,” including hugs, kisses, and physical contact upon meeting clients.

Moe: Over the past two or three years, there’s been an increase in cases where girls are being killed, right? And it’s almost exclusively at high-end establishments like “Yuzuki.”

Sayaka: These days, soaplands let the girls contact customers directly, just like hostesses do, right? I think the girls are getting too involved in the customers’ daily lives. Back in the day, soapland girls were special—they were people you could only meet in Yoshiwara—but now the distance between them and the customers has gotten way too close.

Yoko: There are quite a few girls who end up marrying their clients, aren’t there?

Moe: The risk of a client turning into a stalker has gone way up, but it’s hard to talk to the police about it. I don’t want to have to tell them I’m a soapland worker during an interview.

Sayaka: It’s one thing if it’s near Yoshiwara, but if the questioning takes place near my home, I’d be worried about people seeing me. I don’t want my family or friends to find out, either.

Yoko: When I was followed by a client and went to the police, they grilled me about my job… I know he’s just doing his job, so I get that it’s not sexual harassment, but it really wore me out.

Moe: Since it’s hard to rely on the police, I wish the club would take measures…

Sayaka: After the “Yuzuki” incident, they installed lockers, and now we’re required to put all our belongings in them before going to the playroom. They also handed out personal alarm buttons.

Yoko: I got a personal alarm, too. They also installed metal detectors, but both are just “there.” I’ve never seen them actually being used. Since we haven’t been instructed on the specific circumstances under which we’re allowed to sound the alarm, I don’t think I’d be able to use it in a sudden emergency.

How do active soapland workers protect themselves day to day while living in fear of clients’ obsessive behavior and stalking? In Part 2, we’ll explore the self-defense measures they practice and examine the limitations of the industry’s security measures.

From the September 11 & 18, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*