Japan Sex Workers Say Aid Package Not Enough, Continue Working

LOS ANGELES—Unlike in the United States where sex workers have been largely shut out of economic relief packages in the coronavirus crisis, the government of Japan—after initial hesitation—has made sure that workers in the country’s $24 billion legal sex industry would receive subsidies after all. While receiving or paying money for sexual intercourse remains outlawed in Japan, certain other types of sex work are legal—including the “fashion health” business, which consists largely of massage parlors that also offer oral sex. “Delivery health”—a euphemism for escort services in which intercourse is supposedly not on the menu—is also legal in Japan, as are most forms of adult entertainment including porn, and live strip shows. Under the government’s nearly $1 trillion economic relief package, sex industry businesses may receive subsidies to pay workers who must stay at home to care for children during the coronavirus crisis. Sex workers are also eligible to receive cash payments, similar to the “stimulus checks” in the United States, if they have lost income due to the crisis, according to a CNN report.  But sex workers in Japan say that the aid simply will not be enough to get them through the crisis, and the requirements for applying are too strict. Among those requirements, applicants must show proof of wages and lost income, something few sex workers—who are often paid in cash or “under the table”—are able to do. Perhaps as a result, many sex businesses, including some of the “fashion health” oral sex parlors, have remained open throughout the crisis, even as businesses throughout Japan have shuttered. Though the government has not issued a national shutdown order, it has “requested” most businesses to close. “Japan seems to be one of the countries doing the least, and I guess that makes me feel like it’s less scary,” said “Jane,” an American legal sex worker in Osaka, in an interview with The South China Morning Post. “I just feel worried for the elderly because Japan has so many of them.” According to the SCMP report, not only are many sex businesses remaining open — some with only the most basic sanitization precautions — but so are many nightlife districts in Japanese cities, as are izakayas, a type of drinking establishment that also serves a wide variety of appetizers and other small food plates. Many pinsaro — a type of establishment where customers receive oral sex in a small, private booth — also remain open, and often require customers to do nothing more than wipe down their genitals with a moist towelette before receiving the service. Japan had 11,135 recorded cases of coronavirus as of Tuesday, with 263 deaths, according to Worldometers stats. But Japan also has one of the lowest testing rates of any major country, with just 117,000 of the country’s 126 million people tested do far, meaning that it may also have a larger-than-usual number of undetected cases. Photo By Bject / Wikimedia Commons