“The Anti-Prostitution Law Has Served Its Purpose”—Beyond the “Shift to the Underground” Caused by the Disappearance of the Red-Light District, Experts Point to the “Biggest Flaw”
History of the Prostitution Prevention Act [Part 2]
Were the authorities really not serious about enforcing the law?
Seventy years after its enactment, the Prostitution Prevention Act is set to undergo a comprehensive review. Criticism has arisen that the current system—which penalizes only sellers for solicitation— is “unfair.” In September, a panel of experts convened by the Ministry of Justice concluded that “regulations should also be established for solicitation by buyers.”
How was the current Anti-Prostitution Law enacted, and what were its problematic aspects? In this second part of our series of interviews with two experts, we spoke with former House of Representatives member Kazuhiro Harada.
“Legislation drafted by politicians usually assumes there will be loopholes, and the Anti-Prostitution Law is the prime example of this. In the 1950s, the tide of radical feminism was strong, so rather than seriously cracking down on prostitution, wasn’t the law enacted merely to demonstrate, for the sake of appearances, that such legislation had been enacted?”
Kazuhiro Harada, a former member of the House of Representatives and a Ph.D. in social welfare, makes this observation regarding the Anti-Prostitution Law enacted in 1956.
In a 1925 parliamentary question regarding the criminalization of purchasing sexual services, Mr. Harada stated, “The Diet does not take the opinions of those directly involved into account. We should first listen to their voices.”
Mr. Harada said that initially, he viewed women working in the sex industry as “victims,” and out of a sense of chivalry, he wanted to do whatever he could to help women who were being sexually exploited.However, after listening to the women’s voices during his graduate school fieldwork, he changed his mind when he found that the vast majority of them spoke of benefits beyond money—such as “there are good customers” and “I find a sense of purpose in this work.”
In this second part of our series exploring the history of the Anti-Prostitution Law, we spoke with Mr. Harada about the issues that have arisen since the law’s enactment and the future implications of criminalizing the purchase of sexual services.
The Structure of Exploitation Created by “Going Underground”
The Anti-Prostitution Law, enacted through bipartisan efforts by female lawmakers to protect women who were being sexually exploited, came into full effect in 1958, bringing an end to the “red-light districts” and “blue-light districts.”However, prostitution did not disappear; the number of independent sex workers increased, leading to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and a rise in sex crimes. Furthermore, the women’s protection facilities established under the law did not function adequately.
While some women returned to their hometowns or got married under government guidance, it is said that many of them returned after a while, claiming they “wanted to work.” When they were turned away, they ended up falling into the hands of unscrupulous operators.
Operators began disguising their businesses as restaurants or inns one after another, and a prostitution method became widespread nationwide in which women engaged in prostitution under the guise of independent work and received a percentage of the proceeds. In addition, clandestine prostitution became rampant, and prostitution by non-professionals also increased.They would work at bars or cabarets, select a client from among the customers at their table during business hours, and engage in prostitution after closing time.
From the very beginning, when it was enacted in 1956, the Anti-Prostitution Law was referred to as a “law full of loopholes.” Mr. Harada continues from his opening remarks, stating that politicians at the time had no genuine intention of enforcing it.
“The fact that prostitution was limited to vaginal intercourse alone is proof of that. They deliberately narrowed the definition of prostitution to leave loopholes,” (Mr. Harada, same below)
He then points out, “Wasn’t the biggest problem the shift to the underground? ”
“Prostitution was banned. However, the demand for prostitution itself did not disappear. Consequently, prostitution shifted to locations other than the red-light districts.
In that process, it is antisocial forces that hold the power. Although the system was originally intended to protect women’s human rights, women who had previously sold sex under state control (in the red-light districts) found themselves in a situation where they had no choice but to become involved with antisocial groups such as organized crime syndicates, and a structure of exploitation emerged there. I believe that was the reality of the situation.”
“The Anti-Prostitution Law Has Served Its Purpose”
It is argued that the biggest problem with the current Anti-Prostitution Law is that it places women in the “position of victims” based on a patriarchal mindset.
“The idea that women are either ‘those who must be protected (ladies)’ or ‘tainted beings (prostitutes),’ and that ‘men will properly protect them’—this mindset (paternalism, or paternal benevolence)—is, in my view, already outdated.My frank opinion is that ‘the Anti-Prostitution Law has served its purpose.’
The current system lacks sufficient support for women’s independence. There is a pattern where women with low self-esteem—what I call those in ‘existential poverty’—end up falling into prostitution or the sex industry.Ideally, to help these women, the government should connect them to social welfare services and convey the message: ‘You have value as human beings; you are irreplaceable.’ Instead, the police are arresting streetwalkers as a deterrent. They’re doing the exact opposite, and I’m deeply disappointed.”
When the proposal to “consider criminalizing the purchase of sex” was raised in the Diet in 2025, female politicians across the political spectrum—from the right to the left—unanimously supported it. According to Ms. Harada, this is because female politicians have almost no knowledge of the sex industry and tend to accept the lectures of radical feminist groups at face value.
On the other hand, some male politicians harbor concerns about criminalizing the purchase of sex. However, they cannot voice their opposition because they would be attacked with accusations like, “It’s because you’re doing it yourself, isn’t it?” I also question this bias in opinion.
“When the Nordic Model—which criminalizes the purchase of sex while decriminalizing prostitution—was enacted in Sweden in 1998, there was only one male politician who opposed it, saying, ‘This law is wrong.’ The other politicians remained silent even though they felt the same way.That’s because justifying the buying and selling of sex would cause a massive blow to their image as politicians. As a result, no one dared to address the issue, and the Nordic Model came into being. I believe the current trend toward criminalizing the purchase of sex in Japan follows the same pattern.”
“Only those who ‘have nothing to lose’ will remain.”
Mr. Harada is concerned about the potential consequences of criminalizing the purchase of sexual services.
“Men with social standing—such as politicians, teachers, and police officers—will likely stop patronizing the sex industry altogether. Until now, they’ve used these services because they were legal, but if they become illegal, there’s a risk that their social standing will be tarnished.
The only ones left will be ‘people who have nothing to lose,’ and a decline in the quality of clients will be inevitable.It’ll be nothing but ‘jerk customers’—the kind who are cheap but still pry into the sex workers’ personal lives or try to turn them into girlfriends. As a result, the income of women working in the sex industry will plummet, and we’ll see an overflow of women living in poverty, unable to even make ends meet.
There are things in this world that can be banned and things that cannot. Stimulants like alcohol and tobacco are tied to human desires and cannot be completely banned. Moreover, while controlling sexual desire may be possible in theory, it is practically impossible. Even in France, which adopted this legal system, people are beginning to say that “the Nordic model was a failure.”
Mr. Harada says he sympathizes with the “sex work theory,” which views women working in the sex industry as “workers providing services,” but he cannot fully endorse it given the current strong prejudice against sex workers in Japan.Regarding legalization, he takes a cautious stance, noting that Germany—which has legalized sex work—is said to have become a hub for human trafficking in Europe.
He considers the decriminalization model—in which neither the buyer nor the seller is punished—to be the most appropriate. This approach is supported by United Nations experts and international human rights organizations and has become the mainstream approach globally.
On the other hand, however, it has been pointed out that decriminalization carries the risk of effectively leaving the sex industry “unregulated” in practice, as laws regulating it would be eliminated.
“That is the difficult part. That is precisely why we have concluded that maintaining Japan’s current hybrid system—which classifies prostitution as illegal under the Anti-Prostitution Law while permitting certain business operations under the Entertainment Business Regulation Law—is actually the most realistic approach.
In Japan, this model has long functioned as a practical compromise. Nevertheless, there is now a movement seeking to overturn this optimal solution.
I believe this is driven by lobbying from radical feminist groups, with politicians jumping on the bandwagon to gain popularity. This is exactly the same dynamic we saw with the new adult video law.”
If criminalizing the purchase of sexual services leads to the collapse of the sex industry, who will address the issues of livelihood and income for the women working there? I want politicians to devote themselves to “the happiness of all citizens,” rather than engaging in “self-preservation to win votes.”
PHOTO： Kyodo (1st and 3rd photos)