Industry News — Crime, Regulation & Trends

News

Shiga

Fees Collected From the Women, Kept Off the Books: Osaka Prosecutors Indict an Ogoto Soapland Operator Over ¥87 Million in Unpaid Tax

On October 1, 2026, Osaka prosecutors indicted the former de facto manager of Shinko, the Otsu company behind a soapland in the Ogoto Onsen district, and the company itself. They are accused of hiding about ¥249 million in income, including money collected from the women who worked there, and evading roughly ¥87 million in corporate and consumption taxes.

Elon October 04, 2026

News

Kumamoto

A Phone in a Box With the Lens Cut Out: Kumamoto Police Arrest a High School Teacher Over Filming a Sex Worker

Kumamoto police arrested a 49-year-old teacher at Kumamoto Gakuen University's affiliated high school on October 1, 2026, alleging he hid a recording smartphone on a shelf at a lodging facility and filmed a woman in her thirties who works in the sex industry. Hotel staff found the phone and called police.

Elon October 03, 2026

News

Matsuyama

Police Found the Paperwork: Matsuyama Sex-Shop Operators Re-Arrested Over Contracts to Split Women's Earnings

Ehime police on September 30 re-arrested the operators of a soapland and a 'health' shop in Matsuyama's Dogo-Takomachi district and arrested the soapland's manager, alleging they contracted with female employees to have sex with customers and split the payments. Police say documents seized in September's raids made the case.

Elon October 02, 2026

News

Tokyo

Shinjuku 'Men's Esthe' Operators Re-Arrested Over an Earlier Shop; Police Find Contact With the Scout Group Natural

Tokyo police on September 30 re-arrested three men already held over the Shinjuku men's esthe shop Bonno-ji, this time over the shop that preceded it. Police say the men renamed the business to dodge enforcement, admit it was a prostitution business, and that a phone analysis showed contact with Natural, one of Japan's largest illegal scout groups.

Elon October 01, 2026

News

Hiroshima

Hiroshima Police Arrest a 22-Year-Old Bar Worker, Saying He Steered a Woman Into Sex Work for a Scout Ring

Hiroshima police on September 29 arrested a 22-year-old restaurant worker accused of luring a 20-year-old woman into the bar where he worked and placing her at a sex business, an alleged violation of the Employment Security Act. Police say he is believed to belong to an illegal scout group and searched the business the same evening.

Elon September 30, 2026

News

Hiroshima

\"Girls Bar, Lounge, Cabaret Club?\": Hiroshima Police Arrest a Nagarekawa Tout Nearly Five Months After He Pitched an Officer

Hiroshima police on September 28 arrested a 53-year-old man accused of touting a plainclothes officer in Nagarekawa, the city's main nightlife district, back in May. He told police the allegation is 'broadly correct.' The case follows a run of similar decoy arrests in Sapporo and elsewhere.

Elon September 29, 2026

News

Tokyo

A 'Papakatsu Interview': Tokyo Police Re-Arrest Man Accused of Brokering Teenage Girls, Now on a Sexual Assault Charge

Tokyo police on September 28 re-arrested a 35-year-old man, already indicted for allegedly brokering a 14-year-old girl to men he found online, on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old at what he called a 'papakatsu interview.' Police say his phone held what appears to be a manual for the trade.

Elon September 28, 2026

News

Sapporo

\"Anywhere You Want to Go?\": Sapporo Police Arrest a Susukino Tout a Month After He Pitched a Plainclothes Officer

Sapporo police on September 24 arrested a 44-year-old man accused of following and pitching a plainclothes officer on a Susukino sidewalk in late August. He denies it. It is the second reported Susukino arrest this month in which the target of the pitch turned out to be a police officer.

Elon September 27, 2026

News

Chiba

Funabashi 'Gods' Esthe' Case Closes: Owner Fined 1 Million Yen, Five Others Not Charged

Chiba prosecutors on September 24 declined to charge five of the seven people arrested over the 'Gods' Esthe' men's-salon network in Funabashi. The only two who were charged, the 43-year-old owner and a 40-year-old employee, were fined 1 million yen and 500,000 yen in August. Police had put one room's sales at 30 million yen or more over four months.

Elon September 26, 2026

News

Tokyo

Ex-University of Tokyo Professor Admits Taking Bribes in Soapland and Hostess-Club Entertainment; Prosecutors Seek Two Years

A former University of Tokyo medical professor pleaded guilty on September 25 to accepting about 1.83 million yen in entertainment at Tokyo soaplands and high-end clubs from a research partner. Prosecutors asked for two years in prison; the verdict is set for October 22.

Elon September 25, 2026