Latest news with #JapaneseGovernment
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Japan cracks down on ‘host bar' culture after accusations of predatory behaviour
The Japanese government has launched a sweeping crackdown on the country's 'host club' industry, targeting business practices that allegedly trap women in spiralling debt and, in some cases, coerced sex work. Touted as the most sweeping reform of adult entertainment law in decades, the move by the Tokyo police and lawmakers aims to close loopholes that have allowed exploitation to persist. The crackdown began in December 2023, when Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department launched simultaneous inspections across Kabukichō, the city's famed entertainment district, raiding hundreds of host clubs and concept cafés. A host bar is a nightlife venue in Japan where predominantly young men, known as hosts, entertain female clients by pouring drinks, engaging in flirtatious conversation and offering emotional attention – for a price. The hosts cultivate a sense of intimacy or romantic affection, often encouraging repeat visits and lavish spending via flattery, playful banter, and even messages that suggest affection. According to a report by The Mainachi, investigators raided 202 venues and found serious violations in 145 establishments. Nationwide, authorities inspected a total of 729 host clubs across 33 prefectures during November and December, around 70 per cent of the approximately 1,000 such clubs operating in Japan. More than 200 administrative penalties were issued between January and February 2024, including five business suspension orders. The most common infractions included selling alcoholic drinks without clearly displayed prices, allowing minors to enter, and operating without the proper entertainment‑business license. According to the National Police Agency, consultations related to abusive host club behaviour surged to 2,776 in 2024, a report in The Japan Times stated. The Tokyo police have now banned exaggerated billboards and slogans in Kabukichō, with authorities arguing that these marketing tactics promote an aggressive sales culture that pressures hosts to exploit their clients; neon signs declaring a host as 'No 1', 'King', or urging passersby to 'drown in love' are no longer permitted. Clubs have since taped over faces and slogans on displays to comply with the regulation, according to AFP. Police, NGOs, and survivors say hosts often pressure women emotionally with scripted lines that are industry-standard manipulation. Some hosts even let women drink on credit, where the debt isn't owed to a financial institution, but directly to the club, making it easier to coerce repayment through sex work, a SoraNews24 report reveals. A single bottle of sparkling water can cost 6,000 yen (£30) while champagne towers can push bills up to millions, all of which contributes to the patrons' debts. One unnamed woman told The Japan Times she racked up 1.6m (£8,067) in two months and later turned to sex work, earning up to 500,000 yen (£2,521) a month while sleeping in internet cafés. 'All that money went to the host,' she said. Another woman, 20, told AFP she had no family and spent over 10m (£50,430) yen on hosts in two years. She too ended up working in the sex industry to repay her debt. 'I wanted to be loved,' she said. 'I thought that if my host hated me, life would no longer be worth living'. Critics have likened the system to a financial wolf trap, describing host clubs as preying on romantic fantasy and loneliness. Nonprofit centres in Tokyo's Kabukichō, run by organisations like Nippon Kakekomidera, reported hundreds of consultations in just a few months from parents too embarrassed to go to the authorities. Founder Hidemori Gen told The Guardian it received around 300 requests for help over five months. 'We've seen cases where people have spent 90m yen (£453,870),' Gen said at Foreign Correspondents Club for Japan press conference in December 2024, adding that paying off these debts can take up to eight years in some cases. 'It's exactly the same as a religious cult, the way the clubs manipulate and brainwash the women. They use a manual to target women and give them their first visits free to rein them in.' In December 2024, the NPA convened an expert panel to assess the problem and issued a report that called for tighter regulations to curb emotional manipulation, debt exploitation, and coercion into sex work, urging legal reforms to address what it described as systemic abuse. The Japanese cabinet approved a bill in March 2025 to amend the adult entertainment and amusement business law, which was passed by the House of Representatives in May, and took effect in June. Host clubs can now face fines of up to 300m yen (£1.5m) and the law now forbids tactics like pressuring clients with threats to deny access to their favourite host. The revision also criminalises so-called 'scout back' arrangements, where clubs or hosts receive bounties for referring indebted women into pornography or sexual services. Under the new rules, violators face up to six months in prison or fines of up to 1m yen (£5,042). While several hosts have claimed that exploitative hosts are few and a small minority of clients end up facing any real financial duress. 'The reputation of host clubs is really bad at the moment,' a host named Narumi told The Guardian. 'The vast majority of customers have nothing to do with the debt problem, but they're more reluctant to come because of all the media coverage.' But others, like 27-year-old host Yajo, have admitted that the pressure to rank leads many to manipulate clients with false promises of marriage. 'That's a common trick,' he told The Japan Times. He also revealed that new hosts make around 180,000 yen (£907) a month, but after taxes and grooming costs, many earn far less, making sales performance their only path to financial survival.
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan expects only 1% to 2% of $550 billion U.S. fund to be investment
Japan expects only 1% to 2% of its recently agreed upon $550 billion U.S. fund to be in the form of actual investment, with the bulk of it being loans, according to the nation's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa. At the same time, Tokyo would save roughly ¥10 trillion ($68 billion) through lower tariff rates in its deal with America, he said. The $550 billion investment framework will be a combination of investments, loans and loan guarantees provided by financial institutions backed by the Japanese government, Akazawa said on public broadcaster NHK on Saturday night. Of the total, investment would be worth 1% or 2% and the United States and Japan would split the profits of that investment at a ratio of 90-to-10, he said. Japan had originally proposed a 50-50 ratio, he added. The fund is a centerpiece of the deal announced by the two sides that will impose 15% tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods. But the details given by Akazawa suggest the Japanese may end up giving up much less than at first glance. The comments come as officials from countries with deals with the U.S. sift through the terms to explain to the public what they entail. "It's not that $550 billion in cash will be sent to the U.S.,' Akazawa said. "By letting the U.S. have 90% of the profits rather than 50%, I think Japan's loss will be at most a couple of tens of billions of yen. People are saying various things, such as 'You sold out Japan,' but they're wrong.' For the loans provided through the program, Japan will simply be collecting the interest payments, and for the loan guarantees, if nothing happens Japan will also be just collecting fees, Akazawa said. "For that part, Japan's just making money,' he said. Akazawa also clarified that the investment program won't be only supporting Japanese and U.S. firms. As a potential example, he cited a Taiwanese semiconductor firm building a factory in the U.S. "We'd like to put the $550 billion in place during President (Donald) Trump's term,' Akazawa added. Further details of the implementation of the U.S.-Japan deal remain unclear including when the new tariff rates would take effect and when the new investment vehicle would kick off. There's been no joint document signed by both sides for the deal, although the White House has published a fact sheet. "If you say something like, 'Let's create a joint document,' they will say, 'We'll lower tariffs after the document is created,'' Akazawa said. In order to not lose time, "we will demand that they issue an executive order to lower tariffs as soon as possible, regardless of a document.' Last week, Akazawa said he expects universal tariffs on Japan's shipments to be lowered to 15% on Aug. 1, while he said he wanted the car tariffs to be cut to 15% as soon as possible without specifying a date. The Trump administration has touted the deal with Japan as a potential model for others. On Sunday, the U.S. and European Union agreed on a deal that will see the bloc face 15% tariffs on most of its exports with the EU pledging to invest $600 billion in the U.S.
The Star
22-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Japan vice-minister visits Japanese language pilot school in Brunei
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ikuina Akiko speaks during the visit. - Photo: Borneo Bulletin/ANN BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ikuina Akiko, visited Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School (SMJA) in the capital on Tuesday (July 22), as part of her official engagement in Brunei Darussalam. SMJA is one of three government secondary schools selected for a two-year pilot project (2025–2026) offering Japanese language as an optional subject for Year 7 and Year 8 students. Upon arrival, the Japanese Vice-Minister was welcomed by Director of Schools at the Ministry of Education, Marina Chek Bujang, and the school's principal, Nor Aisah Mohd Salleh. In her speech, Ikuina Akiko expressed appreciation for Brunei's initiative in introducing Japanese language education at the secondary level. Cultural performances including a Gulingtangan presentation. - Photo: Borneo Bulletin/ANN 'The Japanese Government is committed to promoting the learning of the Japanese language overseas, and we are delighted to hear that it has been introduced as an optional subject at Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School this year,' she said. 'We express our sincere gratitude for the efforts carried out by the school and the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam. This initiative is a significant step toward fostering people-to-people exchanges and building mutual understanding between Japan and Brunei. We sincerely hope Japanese language education will continue beyond the pilot period.' Cultural performances including a Kempo demonstration. - Photo: Borneo Bulletin/ANN During her visit, the Vice-Minister observed cultural performances including a Kempo demonstration and a Gulingtangan presentation. Students also had the opportunity to engage with the Vice-Minister using basic Japanese and performed a Japanese song in her honour. The introduction of Japanese language classes aligns with the Ministry of Education's aspirations under the 21st Century National Education System (SPN21), which encourages multilingualism and global readiness. The pilot project aims to enhance students' linguistic and cultural competencies, while supporting broader efforts to strengthen cultural exchange and international understanding. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
France 24
21-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
D-Day veteran and TikTok star 'Papa Jake' Larson dies at 102
01:54 21/07/2025 Storms hit southern China mainland in wake of Typhoon Wipha 21/07/2025 Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 93 aid seekers 21/07/2025 A million people sign French petition against bringing back bee-killing pesticide 20/07/2025 Astronomer CEO announces resignation after viral kiss cam video at Coldplay concert Americas 20/07/2025 Zelensky offers to hold new talks for ceasefire Europe 20/07/2025 Japan government loses Upper house majority JAPAN 20/07/2025 Ceasefire calms Syria's Sweida after sectarian clashes kill 1,000, displace 128,000 Middle East 20/07/2025 Over 1,000 killed in sectarian violence in Syria's Sweida SYRIA 20/07/2025 Palais de la découverte: Scientists say this historic museum could be shut down France
NHK
20-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Russian residents on Japan-claimed island clean Japanese graves
Residents on one of the four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories have cleaned the graves of the ancestors of former Japanese residents. Programs to allow them to visit the site remain halted over the past years. Russia controls the four islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two. The grave visits and a visa-free exchange program involving former islanders came to a halt due to factors including the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There is no prospect for a resumption at this time. A memorial service is due to start at sea on Sunday, in which former residents offer their prayers on board a ship near the island. In mid-June, Russian islanders conducted the grave cleaning for the sake of former residents at a graveyard on the western coast of Kunashiri Island. After mowing the grass, they restored fading Japanese letters on a sign pillar by referring to information provided from the Japanese side. One islander told NHK that he understands the situation of the neighboring Japanese who are unable to visit the graves. He said that so he has been doing what he can to help them. The Japanese government plans to work on the resumption of the exchange program while continuing to uphold its policy of resolving the territorial issue and signing a peace treaty with Russia. But Russia unilaterally suspended peace treaty negotiations after its invasion of Ukraine and says the lifting of sanctions should precede such talks.
