Japan to Step Up Fight against Malicious Host Clubs

Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government said on Tuesday that it will add tougher measures against malicious host clubs in its action plan to fight human trafficking.

Host clubs are bars where male companions entertain women. Malicious ones make customers heavily indebted to them and force those customers into prostitution to repay the debts.

"Human trafficking is a highly invisible crime. Some victims do not realize they are actually victims," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a meeting of government officials.

The action plan will also newly include giving foreign victims of human trafficking access to consultation via social media, a measure considered apparently in response to an incident in which a Thai girl was forced to provide sexual services in a massage shop in Tokyo.

Human trafficking victims in Japan totaled 78 in 2025, an increase of 12 from the previous year, according to the government. Of the total, 66 people were Japanese. Women numbered 69.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]