The Reality of "Binding Through Debt"
According to a survey by an NPO that supports women working in the sex industry, about 35% of the women who sought help testified that they "started working because of debt to loan sharks" or that "their debt to illegal lenders ballooned while they were working."
The typical pattern is as follows. 1. A woman in financial distress takes out a small loan from a loan shark 2. High interest rates make repayment impossible and the debt grows 3. The loan shark introduces her to a sex-industry venue, saying "you can earn it back quickly at a shop run by an acquaintance" 4. Even after she starts working, a "debt repayment portion" is deducted, leaving little income in hand 5. When she tries to quit, she is threatened to "pay back the debt"
A Former Worker's Testimony
A former delivery-health worker in her 20s, referred to as "Ms. A" (pseudonym), recalled: "At first I only borrowed 100,000 yen. Before I knew it, it had become 500,000 yen, and when I tried to quit the shop, they told me they would 'collect it by other means.' I had no choice but to keep working."
Legal Issues and the Difficulty of Investigation
Proving "conspiracy" between loan sharks and sex-industry venues is difficult, and each tends to be handled separately as a distinct illegal act. Advocates argue that "a framework is needed to investigate and prosecute these as a combined offense of violations of the Money Lending Business Act (loan sharking) and organized/managed prostitution."
This article is compiled based on publicly available information and reporting.