Raids on Yoshiwara’s “Eldor” and “Baron”… The “Tainted Relationship” Between Scouts and Hosts Behind the Unending Soapland Raids

Two more establishments raided in Yoshiwara

“In recent years, soaplands across the country have been raided for violating the Anti-Prostitution Law, but I feel that the charge of ‘providing a venue for prostitution’ is going too far. If this is allowed to continue, the police could carry out as many raids as they please, depending on their own discretion.”

Soaplands operate under the “pretense” that the establishment merely provides a venue, while sexual intercourse within the rooms is based on consensual relationships. A staff member at one such soapland laments that this pretense is beginning to crumble.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Safety Division announced that, by October 7, it had arrested nine people—including a 54-year-old male store manager—on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law (provision of premises) for allegedly providing a venue for prostitution to female employees at the soaplands “Eldor” and “Danjaku” in Yoshiwara, Taito Ward, Tokyo.On the 5th, police conducted raids on four establishments belonging to the same chain, including these two.

During questioning, the 54-year-old general manager and eight others admitted to the charges, but one male employee in his 50s denied the allegations, stating , “I didn’t know it was against the law.”

“These arrests stem from an anonymous tip received in April of this year. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the establishments appear to have paid ‘scouting fees’ to scouting groups, and the investigation is proceeding with the possibility of violations of the Adult Entertainment Business Act also under consideration.”During questioning, the male general manager stated, ‘It is difficult to secure female employees, so we used scouts to recruit them.’

“These two establishments are believed to have generated approximately 5 billion yen in revenue over the past six years, and it is possible that massive sums of money were flowing to the recruiters,” said a reporter from the social affairs desk of a national newspaper.

“It was a shop where many women couldn’t pay their bills.”

While many of the recent raids on soaplands have been based on allegations of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law, the existence of scouting groups lies behind them. A source within the scouting industry spoke about the inside story, saying , “There is a strong suspicion that these arrests were carried out to find ‘receipts.’”

“Soaplands are subject to very rigorous tax audits, so their books are generally kept meticulously. As a result, they always have ledgers tracking cash inflows and outflows. Detailed records of referral fees paid to recruiters also invariably exist.

Illegal money transfers are almost always conducted in cash. However, to prevent recruiters from making false claims—such as ‘the amount is wrong’ or ‘I haven’t been paid’—they keep some form of record, such as a receipt, until the transaction is completely finalized. They likely carried out the house search on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Law specifically to find those records.

“This crackdown isn’t limited to soaplands; it’s a hot topic throughout the entire adult entertainment industry. Moving forward, to completely conceal the ties between adult entertainment establishments and scouts, they’ll likely stop using any form of documentation—including receipts for payments to scouts—that leaves a paper trail.”

Furthermore, the shadow of host clubs looms behind this crackdown, not just that of recruiters. “The group that was raided this time was well-known in the industry for having many women on its roster who could no longer pay off their debts to host clubs,” says Mr. A, who claims to have worked as a recruiter in the past.

“The club that was raided was known for having close ties to host clubs four or five years ago, when I was working as a scout. This was part of a chain of clubs where hosts would refer women who could no longer pay their outstanding bills,” said Mr. A.

Outstanding balances refer to debts incurred when a host advances money to the club to cover a customer’s food and drink charges. Since hosts face pressure to collect these debts themselves if they remain unpaid, they sometimes team up with scouts to ensure smooth collection.

Men Who Exploit Women

“The scouting commission is paid to the scout as long as the woman is registered and working at that club.Recently, stricter regulations on scouts have made it harder to recruit women, so these commissions have gone up. Whereas in the past, commissions were based on a percentage of sales, now an additional referral fee is also paid. Hosts who partner with scouts split the scouting commission and the referral fee 50-50” (ibid.)

From the host’s perspective, this prevents customers from running away without paying their tab, and they continue to receive commissions as long as the woman works there. For the scout, while the host’s share of the profits decreases, it saves the trouble of searching for women in financial distress. Since both parties benefit, it’s reasonable to say that this partnership makes sense.

“I’ve even heard hosts refer to soaplands as ‘disposal sites.’ Among hosts who can’t generate enough revenue at host clubs, there are some who try to make money by referring women. When a host makes a referral through a recruiter, a larger portion of the money is skimmed off, so naturally, the woman’s cut decreases.”

There are even cases where the hosts themselves moonlight as recruiters. One woman, who admits she was once obsessed with host clubs , says , “I was so blinded by romance that I was lured by sweet talk into working in the sex industry.”

“When I couldn’t pay my outstanding bills, the host introduced me to an outcall escort service. During the interview, he interacted with the staff as if he were a regular, and he told me, ‘Just give me half of your earnings to pay off your debt,’ so I even thought he was a kind host.

“But as long as I’m working at the escort service, the commission goes to this host, and whenever I go out drinking at the club, I request him, so he gets a cut of my sales too. Since he’s making money both ways, it’s only natural he’d be nice to me. It’s a terrible business.”

According to this woman, such situations occur even within “major host club groups.” She explained that as public scrutiny of host clubs has intensified and the number of unsuccessful hosts has increased, the number of hosts holding down two jobs like this has also risen.

Raids are occurring one after another in the adult entertainment industry, particularly in the soapland sector. The causes of this situation lie with the illegal scouting industry and hosts who continue to engage in unscrupulous business practices. Although regulations on scouts and host clubs have been tightened under the revised Adult Entertainment Business Act, it appears that adult entertainment establishments still haven’t severed their ties with them. Further efforts to clean up the industry are needed.