The Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo, known as Kabukicho, is a city that houses more than 200 bars and nightclubs. Nobuaki Tanaka A host s flattering words were enough to enchant a Tokyo woman in her 20s, but it was a kake pay-later mechanism at the club that pushed her into heavy debt and eventually work in the sex industry.
Under the kake system, host club operators or the companions themselves temporarily cover the costs of the service, allowing customers to wine and dine gorgeously even if they don 't have much money on hand, said a former host in his 30s.
Were it not for the kake framework, host clubs cannot continue their business, he said.
The woman went to a host club three years ago on a friend's invitation.
The woman's lack of self-confidence in her appearance made her happy, so she was happy when the male companion told her she was cute. She had a limited amount of money to spend on the club as a part-time worker. She then used the kake framework, and she kept returning to the host.
As her debts to the club piled up, a staff member put her in touch with the operator of a sex establishment where she could receive a higher salary. She worked there to pay back the money she owed, but her earnings remained unstable. And she was unable to stop going to the host club.
She had become a hoskyo host crazy to cover her expenses, borrowing money from a consumer loan company. When her financial worries made it difficult for her to see her favorite host, she was imagining that he was spending time with other women. She cut her wrist on occasion.
Her debts have ballooned to more than 10 million yen $76,000, although she still works in the sex business to pay back her loans.
I did not have anyone I could trust more than my host, she said, looking back on those days.
The thirtysomething former host has little sympathy for such hos-kyo.
He adds: The male companions are simply providing pseudo-love affairs to women. As consumers, we should be held responsible for being subjected to debts or going into personal bankruptcy. He worked at a host club for more than 10 years until 2022. It was also involved in the management of the company. He said a single visit to a host bar in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district could cost hundreds of thousands of yen to millions of yen, depending on what is ordered.
Consumers can not be forced to buy certain services, he said. Our products are worth the price, which is why we're proud of our array of offerings. However, the kake system can lead to large debts and legal violations.
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a former host on suspicion of being in violation of the Anti-Prostitution Law.
He allegedly ordered a client to prostitute herself at a brothel so that she could repay him for meals and drinks that he brought her under the kake system at his club.
The sex host in his 30s acknowledged that he also brought a patron into a sex place where she could work to repay her debts to him.
One reason for this kind of thing is the overheated competition among hosts in the industry, fueled by the kake system.
Lawyer Akihiro Kosuge, who is knowledgeable about problems in the nightlife community, said the kake system is rampant at host clubs as a payment method.
Postponing payments from patrons makes it easier for clubs to force customers to take responsibility for disproportionate sums, Kosuge said.
Shingo Sakatsume, chairman of the Futerasu Foundation in Niigata that provides advice to sex workers, said that many women contact his organization after they are hired by brothels to work off their debts to host clubs.
Many women feel isolated, she said, through their household conditions and other factors and have no one to talk to except hosts. It is crucial to alleviate their social isolation without negatively viewed their situation as self-inflicted.