Japan’s growing number of so-called men’s concept cafes – where male staffers offer to fulfil women patrons’ fantasies for as much as 1.65 million yen (US$11,500) a drink – has sparked scrutiny over their role in exploiting regulatory loopholes to provide unlicensed adult services.
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Police arrested nine operators of several men’s concept cafes on Tuesday in downtown Osaka on suspicion of operating without proper adult entertainment business licenses and engaging in illegal customer service activities.
One of them, Masao Ota, ran a chain of five such cafes, according to commercial broadcaster KTV News. He was arrested for allowing employees to engage in prolonged customer entertainment without permits. Ota has denied the allegations.
Often called “men-kon” or “men-ko”, men’s concept cafes are often described as the male equivalents of Japan’s iconic maid cafes, staffed with good-looking men dressed to provide services based on a specific concept or fantasy.
Unlike host clubs or boys’ bars, these cafes are not licensed to allow for prolonged interactions between customers and staff. However, while customers were technically not allowed to exchange contact information with staff and conversations were supposed to be kept to a minimum, these rules were often disregarded.
Blurred lines
Operating as restaurants, they often blur the lines between table service and hosting – a distinction that, under Japan’s adult entertainment law, requires strict licensing.