The Full Scope of the Bust
On September 11, 2020, the Organized Crime Control Bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department carried out an operation to dismantle "Ryuwakai" (a pseudonym), a wide-area prostitution ring based in Tokyo and operating across the Kanto, Tokai, and Kinki regions. In coordinated raids on a total of eight related offices and apartments, police arrested 10 people, including the group's senior leaders, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (baishun boshi-ho; provision of premises and managed/organized prostitution) and the Act on Punishment of Organized Crime.
The Group's Methods
The group ran a highly organized operation, taking reservations from customers nationwide through a members-only website and multiple phone numbers and dispatching female workers stationed across the country. When recruiting women, it advertised "high-paying hospitality work" under false pretenses, and once the women learned the truth, investigators say they were "penned in" — kept from quitting through debt and threats.
The Victims' Situation
More than 100 women in total are believed to have been connected to the group, including victims of managed/organized prostitution (kanri baishun) who were effectively unable to escape because of debt. Some of the women testified that they were told "if you run, we'll tell your family," indicating that the psychological control extended over a long period.
From an Organized-Crime Perspective
What draws attention in this bust is the application of the Act on Punishment of Organized Crime (prevention of the transfer of criminal proceeds). Against large-scale organizations that the Anti-Prostitution Act alone cannot fully address, combining it with money-laundering regulations makes it possible to confiscate and freeze funds.
The National Police Agency has signaled a policy of "actively considering application of the Organized Crime Punishment Act in order to respond to the growing scale and geographic reach of prostitution rings," and this case sets a precedent.
Support Going Forward
Alongside the arrests, support for the female victims is also a challenge. Police have taken some of the victims into protection and referred them to nonprofit support organizations, but the path to economic independence is steep. Building a support framework through cooperation between government agencies and nonprofits is an urgent task.
This article was compiled from publicly available information and interviews with sources connected to the investigation.