Police in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested two men for using a 14-year-old girl to work as a call girl.
The two suspects were identified as Kentaro Abe, 25, the manager of Legend, and Daiki Saito, 21, an employee. Legend is a "delivery health" service, which dispatches call girls to hotels and residences on request.
According to police, the two men were aware of the girl's age when they hired her to work for their call-girl business last October, TBS reported Saturday.
Police said the two suspects lied about the girl's age to "clients," saying that she was 19.
From October to March this year, the girl was sent on more than 500 jobs, earning over 1.8 million yen per month for the two men, and only approximately 2,000 to 3,000 yen per customer for herself.
© Japan Today
47 Comments
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sensei258
Guess they should have paid her more.
khulifi
Where is her parents , is she run away ...!!
Novenachama
These men are disgusting creatures. Sexual exploitation of young girls is unacceptable period. A destruction to life and an affront to human dignity.
liarsnfools
There is more than a little hypocrisy in Japan's "moral" image and the reality in the streets of Kabukicho in Tokyo or Tomita in Osaka or the equivalents all throughout Japan. Whether it be soap lands or "walking with high school girls" or other euphemistic descriptions, the illicit sex trade mizushobai is alive and thriving.
It is not that the authorities do not know this. There is just a lack of political will, perhaps because there may be political leadership collusion or, minimally, acquiescence.
Wc626
I once read that it is nearly impossible for a DA to prosecute such a multitude of middle aged salary men, most of whom are patronizing this illegal "underage" sex industry here in Japan.
commanteer
The numbers really don't add up here, unless they were charging 5 or 6000 yen per session. In which case, in addition to being total scumbags, they were stupid businessmen as well.
LaWren
Sensei, do you not see how saying they should have paid an underage child more money is sick? Where is the outrage from the police about her being pimped out, they seem more concerned that she wasnt paid "fairly".
MarkG
If customer demand is there someone will fuel the demand and profit. I have never and would never pay for sex. I think it is demoralizing for the women and desperate for the men. Can a prostitute retire? At what age? And not to mention the body fluid transmissions and other critters hitching possible....
You support prostitutes, you support impressionable young ladies wasting life away. Is it realistic they can meet a man of their dreams while on the job? Would they ever become a mother? Raise a child with self respect? Such a child would need to be a strong self esteem personality otherwise the teasing would be relentless.
Strychnine
Sick, greedy, monsters!
CrazyJoe
Very obnoxious.
DaDude
I believe the age of consent here is 13 but differs by Prefecture and the age of the customer whether it goes against the Child Welfare Act. Also this story is far from anything unique as it has been happening in Japan before and after laws were set up whether it is prostitution or working as a full contact hostess. It is sickening
commanteer
She may have agreed, but she is 14. And no telling what kind of family situation she grew up with (I'd imagine not a good one - and that there's a good chance she was molested at home before deciding she may as well get paid for it).
The men (if you can call them that) who pimped her out knew full well what they were doing. Girls that age often make bad decisions, and often because they haven't been raised or cared for properly at home - or taught how to make good decisions by their parents. The guys who pimped her out were simply looking at her as an easy meal ticket.
The age of consent is not the issue here. It's the prostitution and pimping of a junior high school girl by adults that is the issue.
smithinjapan
And absolutely nothing will come of it. They won't receive any serious punishment and can go right back literally making millions of little girls who are willing to accept a measly 3000 yen to have sex with someone they don't know. What happens to this young girl after this?
Absolutely disgusting!
gelendestrasse
I dunno smith, you're proabably right but you would hope they were hoisted by their own petards
danalawton1@yahoo.com
I don't know which is a more hideous crime..... pimping out this poor girl.... or underpaying her. I certainly hope the courts prosecute both crimes.
Frungy
Prosecute the pimps, let the girl go - preferably straight to a hospital for STD screening and then into counseling.
timbo
She will not live a normal life after this. Even if she agreed to do these things, the men knew she was underage. It's all quite sad more than anything-a young girl getting involved in this business, and a couple of creeps who could have left her alone. People ain't no good, sometimes.
smithinjapan
gelendestrasse: "I dunno smith, you're proabably right but you would hope they were hoisted by their own petards"
I most certainly hope they are, but doubt they will be. Prosecuting them would be like charging a pachinko parlor over gambling if they put the 'donation window' where you 'donate' your prizes for money a little closer to the entrance than usual, you know... since gambling is technically illegal.
nath
It's sick!!! But I have known high school and JHS girls who have prostituted just to buy designer bags and shit! That's totally insane! I can't imagine Gucchi is worth selling your young body!!!
commanteer
You'd be surprised. I've known women who are normal enough (when compared to a typical Japanese woman) who have had similar histories.
sensei258
By no means do I condone what happened there. My first comment was meant only as a guess how they got caught, since the story lacks information.
Wc626
In Beverly Hills, Luis Vutton & Gucchi bags go for $3,000 on up. I cannot imagine a trick worth that amount. Do young gals here still do this? Just to have a high-end product like Vutton? Jeez, what a world-
LaWren
Wc these young girls get caught, "nampa-ed" by good looking young men who then trick and trap them into being prostitutes. You are talking like the ones that get caught up in this are whores. They are victims. Have some respect.
Kuribo1
The whole lot of them are gross people. Every person in their little three way group was disturbed.
Homura Akemi
I am a "Juniour High School" student where I live (Elementary School since I live in Canada) and I wouldn't sell my body. I agree with LaWren. I don't even like designer purses and stuff. I think you are being disrespectful, Wc626. I suppose you also think if a girl wears provocative clothes, she "wants" it? I don't know if this girl asked for the work, accepted the work or was forced into it. But assuming she was forced, she's a victim. Any of these ways and she's still too young.
Wc626
Look people. All I was saying is that there many underage Japanese girls willing to engage in this lifestlye or line of work. Japan is a country (unfortunately) which is notorious for such activity described in this article. If the girl in this incident is in fact a victim of "foul play", then I'm sorry for being disrespectful.
Homura Akemi
Ok and sorry I wasn't trying to be mean.
LaWren
All young teenage prostitutes are victims, WC. And you were not being mean, you were being intelligent, Homura.
nath
If some teenage girl decides to go sell her body for a handbag, I have a hard time viewing her as a victim to anyone but herself.
LaWren
Any psych review of adolescent prostitution will tell you that girls who enter teenage prostitution somewhat willingly are overwhelmingly children who have been abused and neglected already in their young lives. No one goes from being a normal, sexually inexperienced or virginal14 year old adolescent, to a prostitute servicing 500 men over a period of time just for a handbag, and it is naieve to even consider that a possibility.
Ramzel
@commanteer:
1.8M / month over 6 months = 10.8MJPY. / 500 = 21,600JPY per session. They paid her between 10-15% of the fee earned from the John.
Regardless, I agree they are total scumbags.
Kaerimashita
maybe a bit cynical, but I would guess that for at least some of these "clients" the fact that she was 14 was part of her attraction. Bet the satsu just don't want to go to all the hassle of tracking down and prosecuting their "clients" and so have accepted their story that she was thought to be 19.......
nath
Which makes them a victim of abuse and/or neglect. But if they go out and choose to prostitute themselves for a handbag afterwards, they are only victims to themselves.
LaWren
Illogical - cause and effect, SL, nothing exists in a vacuum. The abuse they go through damages them psychologically, which then makes further abuse a continuation of normality for them.
nath
Many abusers were abuse victims themselves. Are their abusive actions justified? Are they victims? The guy who attacked all those people in Akihabara - he was a victim of abuse and neglect. Was he a victim? Were his actions justified because of the abuse and neglect he had suffered? The answer is no, his actions were not justified. It's wrong when kids are abused and neglected. In fact, it's downright horrible. But we all have personal accountability. And any girl who goes out and prostitutes herself, on her own volition, is not anyone's victim but her own.
shiboritate
Good analysis Ramzel. I guess 21,600 means they charged sales tax. So the girl got 10-15% and the Gov got 8%.
For the record, I know well-adjusted, nice women from nice happy families in Japan who have done small scale mizushobai (although without sex) when they were schoolgirls for pocket money. I'm not convinced underage mizushobai is strictly a broken family phenomenon.
Alec Savard
500 customers couldn't tell the difference between a 14 yo girl and a 19 yo girl? I would charge them for child abuse as well. I would like to say they're animals, but I don't wanna get sued by the animals.
Alex Einz
she probably figured she wasnt getting enough back,the guys managing her were too greedy. That said, unless she was somehow forced to it ( unlikely because she was indeed getting payed ) i have hard time seeing her as victim of anyone but herself, 14 aint underage - people know exactly what are they doing at that age.
Wc626
Right Alex E. Its nearly impossible seeing her as a victim. Many underage Japanese girls willingly engage in this lifestlye on their own. The demand is obviously there. Does it not surprise anyone that Japan (of all modern nations) just recently banned kiddy porn, yeah- a day late & a dollar short by most standards. + I find it awkward that for such a tiny country, Japan is the world's 2nd second largest porn industry. Everyone do the math-
Yenot
The story here is more complex than what it actually says. I may get alot of negative feedback from this but this is what I have observed. The problem is so deep and entrenched that if would take something extremely terrible to happen before the government or the general population to see the seriousness of this matter. You have parents dressing their young daughters as young as 8 like call girls. The fashion may young ladies wear today are the same outfits protsitutes wear to draw attention to clients in other countries. You have TV praising this and fans of such stars idolizing them on a God scale. Tv programs glorify name brands and all the young girls believes they must have them at any cost. Intelligent, bright smart female personalities belittle themselves to become so call stars only to post nude lately in magazines. Its not just one thing and if things don't change , it will get worst. For females in Japan, these are infested waters. Its like bleeding on a boat and jumping into shark infested waters, you tell me what will be the results. This is suicide and this is madness.
Fadamor
It's your numbers that are suspect. They were making 1.8 mil a month off of this girl. They employed her for five months (I'm ignoring whatever few days in March were involved). 1.8 * 5 = 9 million yen. Nine million yen spread over 500 (at least) customers is 18,000 yen per customer. Considering that's what THEY made over and above what the girl was making, call it 20,000 yen per session.
azukaya
For me the age of consent is for prostitution too. I know I m not mainstream.
Fadamor
As long as prostitution remains a crime the age of consent is irrelevant, just like it's irrelevant for rape.
sensei258
I hate to say it, but I agree with Strangerland. Yeah they were adults, and she's still a child etc etc. But she knew what she was doing. At one of my previous schools, the teacher in charge of discipline told me that most of their students (2/3 or 3/4, can't remember) came from single parent families, and that some had been in trouble for prostitution. Just where did you think she got that Louis Vuitton when the family's bimbo and she has no job?
Wolfpack
And she is 14. That's just horrible.
Miguel Lozano
I think that girl was doing it on her own volition, how much money was she making?
nath
WJot unimaginable most girls that age knew their attraction and we are talking 30+yrs ago and now with the Internet ....