Tokyo police arrest former host for coercing client into sex work

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Takuto Takeoka, a 27-year-old former host known by the stage name ‘Eren’ in Kabukicho, for violating the Adult Entertainment Business Law. Takeoka is suspected of coercing a female client into working at a sex work establishment to pay off debts incurred at a host club.

According to investigators, Takeoka used a matching app to pose as an IT professional to build a relationship with the victim. After the victim spent approximately 3.8 million yen, Takeoka allegedly pressured her to work in the sex industry to cover the costs. This marks the first enforcement of a new provision in the revised law that prohibits demanding sex work to settle payments.

In a separate incident, a 37-year-old sex industry operator, Makoto Honda, was arrested in Arakawa, Tokyo, on suspicion of paying ‘scout backs.’ He is accused of providing cash rewards to a scout in exchange for female workers, allegedly paying approximately 10 percent of the workers' income as referral fees.