News On Japan

Over 140 arrests in Tokyo's Kabukicho for prostitution

TOKYO, Dec 20 (News On Japan) - More than 140 people have been arrested in Tokyo's Kabukicho district this year for prostitution, about three times more than last year.

In the area around Okubo Park in Kabukicho, solicitation for prostitution has been a significant issue, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has been continuously cracking down on this activity.

This year, the Metropolitan Police Department has arrested 140 women, aged between 17 and 56, near Okubo Park on suspicion of violating anti-prostitution laws. The number of arrests has tripled compared to last year.

Over 40% of those arrested were reportedly seeking to earn money to visit host clubs.

Some of those arrested have been found to return to soliciting clients after being released, in order to pay off their high debts.

The Metropolitan Police Department is enhancing measures, including the installation of security cameras in the area, to tackle the issue.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The newly established Hokkaido Valley Vision Council aims to create a 'Hokkaido version of Silicon Valley' by promoting development around next-generation semiconductor firm Rapidus and transforming the region from Tomakomai to Ishikari into a hub for advanced technology.

At least 24 mountain climbing accidents have occurred in Nagano Prefecture since the start of the Golden Week holidays in late April, resulting in four fatalities.

Head lice, small parasitic insects that feed on blood from the scalp, are once again spreading among children in Japan as physical contact increases following the COVID-19 pandemic. In Sapporo, where outbreaks have been reported in schools, local officials are urging caution.

A wooden church in Kasamatsu, Gifu Prefecture collapsed on Saturday evening, after years of delayed demolition plans due to financial constraints.

Reporters Without Borders has released its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, ranking Japan 66th out of 180 countries and regions surveyed, just behind Timor-Leste (65th) and Fiji (64th).

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A 61-year-old woman was arrested and sent to prosecutors on May 4th in Togo, Aichi Prefecture, for allegedly throwing a bird carcass into her neighbor’s yard, in what police say was part of a long-running neighborhood dispute. Security footage captured the entire incident.

A car plunged into the sea from a wharf in Hakodate Port, Hokkaido on May 4th, and an elderly man rescued from the vehicle was later confirmed dead.

A drunken man caused a disturbance at a popular ramen chain in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 2nd, kicking toward the kitchen area and shouting demands over a large serving he claimed he was denied.

A fire broke out before dawn at a ryokan in the Kinosaki Onsen hot spring district in Hyogo Prefecture, engulfing the building and spreading to nearby stores. While all guests were safely evacuated, a male employee was taken to hospital.

A wooden church in Kasamatsu, Gifu Prefecture collapsed on Saturday evening, after years of delayed demolition plans due to financial constraints.

Kazuhiko Matsumoto, a 70-year-old man on death row for killing two men in the Philippines for insurance money, has died of natural causes.

During the Pacific War, members of the Ainu community, Japan's Indigenous people, were drafted and sent to the front lines alongside ethnic Japanese under the government's assimilation policy.

A senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a designated organized crime syndicate, has been arrested in connection with the theft of over 170 Rolex watches in Osaka, and is suspected of having selected where the stolen goods would be sold.