Summary

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--SUPERS--
00:36-00:47
Hanako Montgomery
CNN Correspondent

02:01-02:06
Yu
Host Club Victim

02:19 - 02:29
Yu
Host Club Victim

02:50 - 02:57
Hidemori Gen
Chairman of Victims' support group "Seiboren"

02:59 - 03:09
Japan House of Councilors

03:09 - 03:21
Ayaka Shiomura
Lawmaker

03:38 - 03:43
Rui Mikami
Club Leo Host

03:55 - 03:58
Rui Mikami
Club Leo Host

04:16 - 04:21
Yu
Host Club Victim

--LEAD IN--
AT JAPAN'S HOST CLUBS,?YOUNG, ATTRACTIVE MEN ARE PAID TO FLIRT AND ENTERTAIN?WOMEN – MANY OF WHOM SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THEIR COMPANY.
HOSTS ENCOURAGE THIS SPENDING, AWARE THAT MANY WOMEN ARE UNABLE TO PAY IT BACK – THEN DEMAND THEIR DEBTS BE RETURNED BY PUSHING WOMEN INTO SEX WORK.
SOME,?DELIBERATELY CHOOSE YOUNGER WOMEN TO PREY ON BECAUSE THEY’D BE IN GREATER DEMAND. CNN SPEAKS TO ONE SUCH VICTIM WHO WAS PUSHED INTO PROSTITUTION AND IS STILL STRUGGLING TO BREAK OUT.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY REPORTS FROM TOKYO.?

--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS--
Yu - Host Club Victim (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “I've hit rock bottoms. I don't know if I can start over again. I want to go back to my normal life, my ordinary job and play with my pets. I don't know why I ever went to host clubs.”

YU IS ONE OF HUNDREDS OF JAPANESE WOMEN FORCED TO SELL THEIR BODIES AFTER THEY'VE BEEN COERCED TO SPEND EVERY PENNY TO THEIR NAME ON A CERTAIN TYPE OF JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT CALLED HOST CLUBS.
RIGHT NOW, I AM IN THE MECCA FOR HOST CLUBS, KABUKICHO.
IN THIS PART OF TOWN ALONE, THERE ARE OVER 300 OF THESE TYPES OF ESTABLISHMENTS AND IT'S IN PLACES LIKE THESE WHERE THE PROBLEM STARTS.
HOST CLUBS, PART OF JAPAN'S EXPANSIVE NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ARE BARS WHERE FEMALE PATRONS PAY FOR THE COMPANIONSHIP AND ATTENTION OF MALE HOSTS.
TYPICALLY, WELL-GROOMED AND SKILLED IN FLATTERY, THESE HOSTS SERVE UP COMPLIMENTS AND DRINKS OFFERING A FANTASY LIKE ESCAPE.
BUT SOME OF THEM ARE OUTRIGHT ROMANCE, SCAMS AND CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES PREYING ON YOUNG LONELY WOMEN.
YU A DIVORCED MOTHER OF TWO FELT HER HEART FLUTTER WHEN SHE FIRST MET HER HOST.
SHE ASKS TO USE A PSEUDONYM BECAUSE HER FAMILY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT HER DEBTS.
YU MET HER HOST IN JANUARY 2023 AND QUICKLY FELL IN LOVE.
SHE A CLINICIAN WHO WORKED LONG LONELY HOURS, SPENT EVERY SPARE MINUTE AT HIS CLUB.
IN RETURN, HE SHOWERED HER WITH PRESENT ATTENTION PROMISES. UNTIL HER MONEY RAN OUT.
SHE SPENT IT ALL ON EXTREMELY MARKED UP ALCOHOL WHERE THE BILL COULD RUN INTO THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

Yu - Host Club Victim (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “He asked me, how are you going to pay me back? And when I said I didn't know he said go abroad for sex work. I didn't want to.”

YU SAID HE PUSHED HER INTO PROSTITUTION AT HOME AND ABROAD IN MACAU AND HONG KONG, SHE NEVER SAW THE MONEY SHE EARNED…
ALL OF IT WIRED BACK TO A PIMP IN TOKYO.

Yu - Host Club Victim (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “When my body was exhausted or I felt weak, I thought it would be easier to die. I thought about that a lot.”

HIDEMORI GEN IS AN AID WORKER IN TOKYO'S BIGGEST RED-LIGHT DISTRICT WHO'S PROVIDED A DROP-IN CONSULTATION SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND GANG VIOLENCE FOR OVER TWO DECADES.
BUT IN THIS PAST YEAR, WOMEN WITH CASES LIKE YU’S, HE SAYS, HAVE INCREASED FIVEFOLD.

Hidemori Gen - Chairman of Victims' support group "Seiboren"Last spring when we came out of the pandemic and the masks came off. That's when consultations about host clubs increased dramatically.”

POLITICIANS LIKE AYAKA SHIOMURA HAVE TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO PASS LAWS TO STRENGTHEN SAFEGUARDS AGAINST EXPLOITATIVE HOST CLUBS.

Ayaka Shiomura, Lawmaker (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “Basically, it's a romance scam. Some of these women are brainwashed into thinking they're dating these hosts. It's a vicious cycle.”

INSTEAD FROM APRIL 1 HOST CLUBS SAY THEY WILL SELF-MANAGE AND BAN CUSTOMERS UNDER 20…
AND PREVENT WOMEN FROM INCURRING MASSIVE DEBTS.
A MEASURE WELCOMED BY MIKAMI, A HOST OF 10 YEARS.

Rui Mikami, Club Leo Host (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “These guys know they'll make more money prostituting young women, so they target girls.”

THOUGH, HE SWEARS HE'S NEVER FORCED A CUSTOMER INTO SEX WORK, MIKAMI ADMITS IN THE PAST HE'S COERCED WOMEN TO SPEND WAY BEYOND THEIR MEANS.

Rui Mikami, Club Leo Host (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “But now I entertain women without pressuring them for money. I stick to what they can afford. Now, my clients go home every night and say thank you.”

BUT FOR VICTIMS LIKE YU, THANK YOU ARE THE LAST WORDS OUT OF HER MOUTH AS SHE WONDERS IF SHE'LL EVER GET HER LIFE BACK.

Yu - Host Club Victim (ENGLISH TRANSLATION): “I'm still doing sex work because I can't afford to leave. I don't want to do this work. I feel like I'm going to fall apart.”

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN TOKYO.
-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----

--KEYWORD TAGS--
JAPAN HOST CLUB SEX TRADE