Extended school closures. Teleworking from home. Music concerts and sports events, cancelled one after the other.
As the threat from the coronavirus grows, the mood of jishuku (self control, or, if you prefer, social distancing), has permeated Japanese society. And as Asahi Geino (March 19) observes, it is also spawning kajiba dorobo, literally, looters at the scene of a fire, but by extension, people who take advantage of a crisis to engage in illegal activities.
Takayori Maeda, who covers the commercial sex scene in the Kansai area, noted how foreign demand flickered out with the approach of the pandemic.
"Before, the brothels in Tobita Shinchi were crowded with groups of Chinese and other foreign tourists, but now all you see here are a few Japanese strolling around," says Maeda. "And at Togano-cho or Juso, where outcall deriheru women wait to be summoned to the nearby love hotels, older men seeking young women on weekends has pretty much disappeared."
On condition of anonymity, the manager of a deriheru service in Tokyo talks shop with Geino's reporter.
"The impact of the pandemic? Well, we are not a 'full service' outfit (in that the employees do not perform honban [intercourse]), but I'd still say our outcall business is better than 'walk-in' shops like massage parlors. What's been happening is that salaried workers who have been ordered to work from home find themselves with time on their hands, so they call us to send a girl over. We've been getting pretty steady business from guys who phone and say hesistantly, 'This is the first time for me.'
"Our biggest concern right now is of some girls leaving to work at other shops because they aren't making enough money with us," he added.
It seems that competition has heated up, with more deriheru offering corona-wari discounts -- by dispensing of initial membership charges and not charging for the girl's transportation.
Some girls, however, have decided not to wait patiently for customer calls but are seeking ways to deal direct, such as by posting personal data on dating sites, offering enjo kosai ("compensated dating") arrangements. They include semi-pros, university students seeking to earn income by engaging in papa-katsu (a regular arrangement with an older man), and hard-up housewives hoping to supplement the family budget.
"Previously most of the women who posted on those sites were amateurs," said the aforementioned manager, "but since the corona mess, there has clearly been a jump in the number of women who appear to be pros, judging from the not-so-subtle sexual euphemisms they use in their self-introductions."
Considerably more detestable than desperate housewives are those shady characters who have cleaned out retailers of face masks, toilet paper, tissues, liquid hand cleaner and other essential items. By the time Prime Minister Abe announced on March 5 that reselling of such commodities would be prosecuted, it was already too late.
"Perhaps because people were traumatized by shortages after the big earthquake in March 2011, they've been stocking up on all sorts of edibles," a reporter for a daily newspaper was quoted as saying. "Who knows what will vanish from the shelves next? Bottled water maybe?"
That said, there are always people who don't believe in earning an honest living, and who see the pandemic as an opportunity.
One of the worst of these are men who knock on the doors of homes, particularly of seniors, in prefectures where people have tested positive for the coronavirus.
"Under the guise of staff from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, they coerce people into accepting a phony 'disinfection treatment' of their home, and then present the householder with a bill for 100,000 yen.
Others, in the wake of plunging stock market prices, are looking for signs of a rebound, which once again offers opportunities to bilk the elderly.
"These guys will persuasively convince their targets they have a chance to get in on the ground floor of a vaccine that is effective against the coronavirus, for which demand is certain to soar," an insider "outlaw," tells Asahi Geino. "They set the price below a million yen, say 800,000, and promise it will pay them dividends of 25% a month, which means they'll recoup their original investment in four months.
"It's an irresistible con scheme, that often works."
© Japan Today
19 Comments
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1glenn
The article briefly mentions papa-katsu, university students making an arrangement with an order man.
It is almost never talked about over here, but that sort of thing happens here, too. Some very nice young women I knew at college, who did not come from wealthy families, and who did not qualify for scholarships, ended up temporarily exchanging sexual favors for a paid apartment while they went to school. They later went on to get married, and to have responsible jobs. I found it very surprising at the time, but it happened, and probably still does. These women were not predators or drug addicts, they were just trying to make the best of a difficult situation.
timeon
1glenn, there are a few dating apps specialized in papa katsu, and you will find girls from all the segments, students, OLs, housewives, etc. Even models and idols who are not popular enough to make a decent living. A good model of supply and demand balance
Mocheake
Adapt and overcome but as NY advised it's citizens, refrain from rim jobs.
Lukebeston
If university students really believe that this is the only way to make their lives better, they are not qualified enough to be university students in the first place. Guaranteed that they will be paying a price for their action either in the short term or the long term. What goes around comes around.
Tom
Would not a Papa Katsu be called a comfort woman?
what does the katsu part mean?
Strangerland
what does the katsu part mean?
活動 (かつどう katsudou), which is like 'activity', but more specifically is used in the term 就職活動 (しゅうしょくかつどう shushoku katsudou), which is the yearly job hunt when university students go out and job hunt, interviewing at multiple companies. So papa-katsu can kind of be thought of as 'working/hustling the papas/daddies'.
timeon
actually, Japan Today had a quite informative article on papa katsu a while ago
Tom
Thanks for the Katsu information
starpunk
This sex worker thing is just a bad way, no matter how you slice it.
Pukey2
I'm glad someone explained what papa-katsu is. I always thought it was an oyaji getting himself covered in breadcrumbs and thrown into a pot of hot oil.
Strangerland
I laughed :)
Mike Walker
The sex workers industry is huge and flourishing here with the internet and LINE. Some of the single sugar babes,under 25 can earn big money and get a nice apartment. Of course they can also get school fees paid for. I was quite surprised that Japan and Korea have a lot of young men involved in the floating table business and they ply their trade with wealthy women over 50.
Wolfpack
As-long-as she gets in the pot with you - could be fun.