Posts Tagged sex trafficking
Criticism of NYT article on hostesses in Japan
I have to say that I am quite disappointed in a recent NYT article on hostesses in Japan for a number of reasons. First, the emphasis is almost entirely on the increasing popularity and “glamor” of hostessing with very little mentioned about the dangers that women in the industry often face. The article makes it sound like the greatest dangers from hostessing are drinking and partying too much. That, unfortunately, is the least of their worries. Human trafficking is a very real issue in the industry, with women from both overseas and within Japan tricked or coerced into the industry, or being lied to about the working conditions or pay. Women are often pressured or required to go out on “dates”, or “dohan”, with male clients, where sex is often involved.* There is a strong connection between hostess bars and prostitution — both geographically and otherwise — and unfortunately the article devoted very little attention to that.
In addition, the article stated that prostitution is “illegal”. Actually, only the act of coitus is illegal, and even that receives scant enforcement. For instance, if a hostess and her male client go out on a “date” and have sex, the male client can claim that he paid only for the “date” and that they both “consented” to have sex. This is also how the “soaplands” get around the law as well.
What is interesting is that even in a recession, the male demand to spend large amounts of money for the sexual exploitation of women is still high. That plus the fact that there are few opportunities for women to be financially independent and secure in Japanese society make it an increasingly popular option for women. What does it say about a society that the most lucrative jobs available to women are those where they are required to please men?
Criticism of “Sour Strawberries”
The Kansai Scene recently reviewed a documentary called Sour Strawberries, which focuses on the exploitation of foreign laborers in Japan.
To begin with, the Kansai Scene article describes Kabuchiko as “one of Japan’s foreigner friendly hotspots”. The glaring omission in this description, of course, is that Kabukicho is a hotspot for sexual exploitation — hostess bars, pornographic video stores, and, of course, brothels. This omission, along with the characterization of Kabukicho as a “hotspot” for foreigners, is troubling.
I myself purchased the film recently. While overall I thought it was interesting, I found the scene with Debito in Kabukiko problematic on a number of levels. In this scene, Debito is walking in Kabukicho and discovers a sign which prohibits foreigners from entering an establishment. He raises objections to the sign with a staff member, and an argument ensues.
However, the establishment was most likely a hostess bar, brothel, or some other venue where men sexually exploit women, in an area teaming with similar establishments. As Debito has pointed out, these establishments often hire and exploit foreign women. In fact, the human trafficking of foreign women for sexual exploitation in Japan has been well-documented (see here as well as Debito’s recent post on the UN’s criticism of Japan in this regard). In a documentary about the exploitation of foreign workers in Japan, wouldn’t it have made more sense to focus attention on the plight of these women rather than on the men who fuel the demand for the industry which exploits them?
UPDATE: The above was also posted in the comments section on debito.org, where a discussion of my comments is taking place.
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