A Qualitative Study of Kabukichō: Insights into the Possibilities for International Sex Tourism in Japan

Kabukichō, on the western side of metropolitan Tōkyō, was developed into an entertainment district after World War II and has been home to the best-known “red-light district” in Japan over the past several decades. Although many people who visit Kabukichō spend their time at such innocuous establishments as restaurants and bars, it is quite clear that services of a sexual nature are available and that there are a variety of people and establishments involved in this trade; the clientele are mostly Japanese males, yet the providers and enablers include not only Japanese but also people from several other countries. Over the past eight years, walks through Kabukichō and an adjacent area have revealed that some salient spatial divisions exist in regard to types of businesses connected to the sex industry and the people working at street level looking for custom, and these are highlighted in this paper. During the same period, the southern part of Kabukichō has become a popular destination for foreign tourists who mainly look around the area and take photographs, but some Japanese and African touts have been observed to approach Europeans and North Americans with references to businesses offering sexual services. Such activity raises the question of whether Kabukichō might become a center of international “sex tourism,” in the sense of foreign visitors being an important component of the demand side, something which this paper considers but concludes as not yet likely to happen.