JK business
The JK business is a commercial activity in Japan where customers engage in pseudo-dating with high school girls. It grew significantly around 2006 after the maid café boom in Akihabara, Tokyo had died down. The abbreviation JK stands for 女子高生, a female high school student. A typical JK encounter entails a girl distributing leaflets offering a JKお散歩.
Earlier, the service offered was known as a "refresh business". When police began investigations, the "sanpo business" arose in which a girl is paid for social activities such as walking and talking, and is also sometimes referred to as "fortune telling". Another activity is reflexology. Many of the girls work in Akihabara in Tokyo.
The U.S. State Department reported in 2017 that the Government of Japan "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking", and "continues to facilitate the prostitution of Japanese children". Japan was briefly upgraded to 'Tier 1' status in the 2018 and 2019 reports, but was downgraded again to 'Tier 2' status in the 2020 and 2021 reports.
Yumeno Nito, a strong critic of government inaction on the problem, has formed a charity to assist girls in Tokyo. Cultural anthropologists have described Japan as having a shame culture, creating a barrier for teenage runaways to be reunited with their families, making them vulnerable to recruitment into the underage sex industry.
Laws and law enforcement
Various prefectures and police departments in Japan have implemented policies and regulations to crack down on JK business because it can lead to under 18 prostitution. Several prefectures have amended their Prefectural Ordinance of Juvenile Protection to prohibit the business. Kanagawa Prefecture was the first to take action, amending its ordinance to regulate it in 2011.In 2014, police increased their clamp down on girls under the age of 18, leading to a decline in the number of establishments where girls serve customers in confined spaces.
In 2017, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly enacted a landmark ordinance specifically targeting JK business, the first in the country to do so. Previously, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had suppressed JK business and arrested girls using the national Labor Standards Act, the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act, and the Child Welfare Act. The new ordinances expanded the scope of regulated industries beyond the amendments made to the previous Prefectural Ordinance of Juvenile Protection. The ordinance prohibits those who are under 18 from engaging in activities that arouse the sexual curiosity of opposite-sex customers, such as providing massages, allowing customers to take or view photographs of them, engaging in conversations with customers, serving food and beverages to customers, and going for walks with customers. However, if these acts do not arouse the customer's sexual curiosity, they are not illegal. It also prohibits advertisements that give customers the impression that girls under 18 work in the establishments, even if there are no such employees. Violators of this ordinance face a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine of up to one million yen.
In 2018, Osaka Prefecture amended its Prefectural Ordinance of Juvenile Protection to establish regulations similar to Tokyo's. Offenders face a maximum penalty of up to six months' imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. Even if the business no longer employs workers under 18 after the conviction, the authorities may issue a six-month suspension order on the operation of the business. Violation may result in imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, and the name of the establishment will be made public.
According to a survey conducted by the National Police Agency at the end of December 2022, there were 119 establishments nationwide engaged in JK business. Of these, 78 provided massage services to customers, 32 provided food and drinks, six allowed customers to take pictures or watch the girls, and three engaged in activities such as conversing, playing games, or telling fortunes with customers. Seventy percent of the establishments were in Tokyo, while 21% were in Osaka. In Tokyo, 30% were in Ikebukuro, 20% in Akihabara, and 10% in Shinjuku. According to the National Police Agency, however, the number of businesses announced is not the number of businesses where girls are actually serving customers, but the number of businesses that advertise that high school students and others are serving customers.
In 2023, the National Police Agency issued instructions to police departments in each prefecture to intensify efforts to eradicate JK business. These instructions included thoroughly understanding the actual situation, strengthening enforcement measures, stepping up education and awareness campaigns targeting young people, and improving counseling systems for young people.