Industry News — Crime, Regulation & Trends

Sweeping Crackdown on Adult-Entertainment Law Violations Across Osaka; 21 Venues Searched, Numerous Ordinance Breaches News

Sweeping Crackdown on Adult-Entertainment Law Violations Across Osaka; 21 Venues Searched, Numerous Ordinance Breaches

On the 13th, Osaka Prefectural Police announced that they had simultaneously searched 21 adult-entertainment-related venues across the prefecture, arresting or referring 17 operators and others to prosecutors for violations of the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act and prefectural ordinances. Unregistered operation was the most common offense, with late-night employment of minors and operation outside permitted hours also confirmed.

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Tokyo Revises Ordinance Regulating 'JK Business': Tougher Penalties and Expanded Scope of Covered Operations News

Tokyo Revises Ordinance Regulating 'JK Business': Tougher Penalties and Expanded Scope of Covered Operations

On the 21st, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly passed a revised ordinance strengthening regulation of operations involving the sexual exploitation of youth, including the so-called 'JK business.' Penalties were raised from administrative fines to criminal punishment, and the scope of regulated operations was expanded. The move drew attention as a precedent for ordinance revisions by local governments nationwide.

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Man Found Guilty of Coercing Adult-Video Appearance: 'There Was No Free Will'—Tokyo District Court News

Man Found Guilty of Coercing Adult-Video Appearance: 'There Was No Free Will'—Tokyo District Court

On the 9th, the Tokyo District Court handed down a guilty verdict against a man charged with coercion and other offenses for forcing a woman to appear in an adult video. According to the victim's testimony, she was 'driven into a situation where she could not refuse,' and the court found that there had been 'a substantive absence of free will.' The ruling drew attention as a judicial judgment concerning harm from coerced adult-video appearances.

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Foreign Prostitution Ring Busted: Chinese Group Operated in Tokyo and Kanagawa—Six Arrested News

Foreign Prostitution Ring Busted: Chinese Group Operated in Tokyo and Kanagawa—Six Arrested

On the 10th, the Metropolitan Police Department and Kanagawa Prefectural Police arrested six people, including ring leaders of a Chinese-affiliated prostitution organization, on suspicion of violating the Anti-Prostitution Act (provision of premises) and other offenses. The group operated out of apartments in Tokyo and Yokohama, using more than a dozen Chinese women to provide prostitution services, and is said to have recruited customers via the internet and Chinese-language social media.

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Sex-Industry Operator Arrested for Tax Evasion — About 100 Million Yen in Hidden Income Over 3 Years — Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau News

Sex-Industry Operator Arrested for Tax Evasion — About 100 Million Yen in Hidden Income Over 3 Years — Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau and the Metropolitan Police Department on the 18th arrested a man who operates a sex-industry establishment on suspicion of violating the Corporation Tax Act (tax evasion). The man allegedly failed to report about 100 million yen in revenue over the three years from 2017 to 2019, with the evaded tax said to total roughly 30 million yen. The case is drawing attention as part of stepped-up tax investigations of the sex industry.

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