Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law | Japan Adult Guide

There is an important consideration when utilizing sex entertainment services such as Escort, Soapland, Erotic Massage, and Pinksalon in Japan. In countries outside of Japan, engaging in classic sex (penetration of the penis into the vagina) is a common practice when using ‘Adult Entertainment’ or ‘Sex Entertainment’ services. However, in Japan, intercourse is strictly prohibited. Activities such as blowjobs, titfucks, and anal sex are permissible, but intercourse is strictly off-limits. Traditionally, intercourse at Soaplands was overlooked, but in recent years, even this has been subject to crackdowns, making casual use of these services more challenging.

To ensure that everyone avoids such troubles, this page provides a translation of Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law into English. (However, it can be quite challenging to read, so please just remember that it is absolutely forbidden to insert the penis into the vagina.)

Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law

Chapter 1: General Provisions (Article 1: Purpose) This law aims to prevent prostitution, considering that prostitution harms human dignity, contradicts sexual morals, and disrupts the good customs of society. It does so by punishing acts that promote prostitution and by providing guidance and rehabilitation measures for women who might engage in prostitution due to their behavior or environment.

(Article 2: Definition) In this law, “prostitution” refers to engaging in sexual intercourse with an unspecified partner in exchange for compensation or with the promise of receiving compensation.

(Article 3: Prohibition of Prostitution) No person shall engage in prostitution or become a client of a prostitute.

(Article 4: Caution in Application) In applying this law, care must be taken not to unjustly infringe upon the rights of citizens.

Chapter 2: Criminal Penalties (Article 5: Solicitation, etc.) A person who commits any of the following acts for the purpose of engaging in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of up to 10,000 yen:

1. Soliciting a person to become a client in a manner visible to the public.
2. Obstructing a person’s path or following them in a road or other public place for the purpose of solicitation.
3. Waiting for clients in a manner visible to the public or enticing a person to become a client through advertising or similar methods.

(Article 6: Brokering, etc.) A person who brokers prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 50,000 yen. The same punishment applies to a person who commits any of the acts listed in Article 5 for the purpose of brokering prostitution.

(Article 7: Prostitution through Deception, etc.)

1. A person who deceives or confuses another person to engage in prostitution, or uses familial influence to make another person engage in prostitution, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
2. A person who threatens or assaults another person to make them engage in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
3. Attempted crimes of the preceding two paragraphs shall be punished.

(Article 8: Receipt of Compensation, etc.)

1. A person who commits the crime mentioned in Article 7, Paragraph 1 or 2, and receives or demands all or part of the compensation for the prostitution, or promises to do so, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.
2. A person who uses familial influence to demand all or part of the compensation for prostitution from a person who engaged in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.

(Article 9: Advance Loans, etc.) A person who provides money, goods, or other financial benefits with the purpose of making another person engage in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.

(Article 10: Contracts for Prostitution)

1. A person who makes a contract with the content of making another person engage in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
2. Attempted crimes of the preceding paragraph shall be punished.

(Article 11: Provision of Premises)

1. A person who knowingly provides a place for prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
2. A person who makes a business of providing places for prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to seven years and/or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

(Article 12: Prostitution Business) A person who makes a business of having others reside in a place under their control or a designated place and engage in prostitution shall be punished by imprisonment for up to ten years and/or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

(Article 13: Provision of Funds, etc.)

1. A person who knowingly provides funds, land, or buildings required for the business mentioned in Article 11, Paragraph 2, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.
2. A person who knowingly provides funds, land, or buildings required for the business mentioned in Article 12 shall be punished by imprisonment for up to seven years and/or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

(Penal Provisions) Article 14: When the representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee, or other worker of a corporation or individual, commits any of the crimes prescribed in Articles 9 to the previous article in connection with the business of that corporation or individual, in addition to punishing the perpetrator, a fine as prescribed in each of the relevant articles shall be imposed on that corporation or individual.

(Concurrent Punishment) Article 15: A person who has committed the crimes prescribed in Article 6, Paragraph 1 of Article 7, Paragraph 2 of Article 8, Article 9, Article 10, or Paragraph 1 of Article 11 may be subject to both imprisonment and a fine. The same shall apply to a person who has committed the crime prescribed in Paragraph 3 of the same article pertaining to Paragraph 1 of Article 7.

(Special Provision for Suspension of Execution of Sentence) Article 16: When only a prison sentence is pronounced for the crime prescribed in Article 5, the provision of the proviso to Paragraph 2 of Article 25 of the Penal Code (Law No. 45 of 1907) shall not be applied. The same shall apply when a prison sentence is pronounced for the crime prescribed in Article 5 in accordance with the provision of Paragraph 1 of Article 54 of the same law.

Chapter 3: Guidance and Rehabilitation Measures (Guidance and Rehabilitation Measures) Article 17: For a woman over the age of 20 who has committed the crime prescribed in Article 5, if the execution of the whole sentence of imprisonment or imprisonment with or without work for the crime of that article or the crime of that article and another crime is suspended, she may be placed under guidance and rehabilitation measures.

2. A person subjected to guidance and rehabilitation measures shall be accommodated in a women’s guidance home, and necessary guidance and rehabilitation shall be provided for her reintegration.

(Period of Guidance and Rehabilitation Measures) Article 18: The period of guidance and rehabilitation measures shall be six months.

(Relationship with Probation) Article 19: When placing a person who has committed only the crime prescribed in Article 5 under guidance and rehabilitation measures, the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 25-2 of the Penal Code shall not be applied. The same shall apply to a person who has been sentenced for the crime prescribed in Article 5 in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 54 of the same law.

(Decision on Guidance and Rehabilitation Measures) Article 20: When placing a person under guidance and rehabilitation measures, the court must pronounce the decision at the same time as the sentence in a judgment.

(Effect of Detention Order) Article 21: When a judgment stating that a person is to be placed under guidance and rehabilitation measures is pronounced, the provisions of Articles 343 to 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 131 of 1948) shall not be applied.

(Accommodation) Article 22: When a judgment placing a person under guidance and rehabilitation measures has become final and it is necessary to accommodate her, the prosecutor may issue an accommodation order.

2. The accommodation order shall include the name, residence, age of the person to be accommodated, the women’s guidance home where she should be accommodated, and other necessary matters, and shall be accompanied by a certified or copied transcript of the judgment or a record of the judgment.
3. The accommodation order shall be executed by a prosecution administrative officer, police officer, head of the women’s guidance home, a designated staff member of the women’s guidance home, head of the penal institution, or a designated staff member of the penal institution under the direction of the prosecutor. When the accommodation order is executed, the date, time, location, and other necessary matters of the execution must be recorded.
4. The provisions of Articles 71, Paragraphs 1 and 3, and Article 74 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis to the accommodation order.
5. The number of days on which a person is restrained pursuant to an accommodation order shall be included in the period of the guidance and rehabilitation measures.
6. When a prosecutor has issued an accommodation order, it is not necessary to direct the execution of the judgment stating that the person is to be placed under guidance and rehabilitation measures.

(Concurrent Application of Guidance and Rehabilitation Measures) Article 23: When two or more judgments stating that a person is to be placed under guidance and rehabilitation measures have become final simultaneously or at different times, and the execution (including physical restraint not part of the execution, the number of days of which are included in the period of the guidance and rehabilitation measures) of one of the guidance and rehabilitation measures has been carried out on or after the date on which there are two or more final judgments, the number of days of that execution shall be included in the period of the other guidance and rehabilitation measures.

(Adjustment of Living Environment) Article 24: When it is deemed necessary for the smooth reintegration into society of a person accommodated in a women’s guidance home, the head of the probation office may visit the person’s family or other related persons to seek cooperation or take other measures to adjust the living environment, such as residence and employment, after the person’s release.

2. The provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 61 and Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 82 of the Act on Rehabilitation and Probation Services (Law No. 88 of 2007) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the measures taken under the preceding paragraph. In this case, the term “penal institution (detention facility in the case of a person detained in a labor camp, the penal institution to which the labor camp is attached) or juvenile training school” in Paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Act on Rehabilitation and Probation Services as applied mutatis mutandis in the same paragraph shall be read as “women’s guidance home.”

(Provision for Provisional Discharge) Article 25

1. The Regional Rehabilitation Protection Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Local Committee”) may, when deemed appropriate, decide to allow provisional discharge for those subjected to guidance and rehabilitation measures.
2. The head of the Women’s Guidance Institute must promptly notify the Local Committee when a person subjected to guidance and rehabilitation measures is admitted.
3. The head of the Women’s Guidance Institute must submit a request to the Local Committee for provisional discharge when it is deemed appropriate for a person being held for the execution of guidance and rehabilitation measures.
4. The provisions of Articles 3, 35 to 37, and 39(2) to (5) of the Rehabilitation Protection Law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the provisional discharge mentioned in paragraph 1. In this case, the terms in the mentioned articles are to be replaced as specified in the original text.

(Probationary Supervision During Provisional Discharge) Article 26

1. A person who is granted provisional discharge shall be placed under probationary supervision for the remaining period of the guidance and rehabilitation measures.
2. For the probationary supervision mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the provisions of Articles 3, 49(1), 50(1), 51, 52(2) and (3), 53(2) and (3), 54(2), 55 to 58, 60 to 64, and 65-2 to 65-4 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law shall apply mutatis mutandis. In this case, the terms in the mentioned articles are to be replaced as specified in the original text.

Please note that the specific replacements mentioned in paragraphs 4 of Article 25 and 2 of Article 26 refer to the original text, and are not provided here.

(Repeal of Provisional Discharge) Article 27: The local committee may cancel a provisional discharge, based on the application from the head of the probation office, when it deems that the person on provisional discharge has not complied with the terms to be observed. 2: The provisions of Article 3 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the cancellation of provisional discharge pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph. The provisions of Article 68-3, Paragraph 4 of the same law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the detention pursuant to the provisions of Article 73, Paragraph 1 of the same law. The provisions of Article 73 (excluding Paragraph 4) of the same law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the person on provisional discharge when there is an application pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph. In this case, the phrase “Article 63, Paragraph 2 or 3” in Article 73, Paragraph 1 shall be read as “Article 63, Paragraph 2 or 3 applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Prostitution Prevention Law,” the phrase “application pursuant to the provisions of the same article” shall be read as “decision pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 27 of the same law,” the phrase “juvenile classification home” shall be read as “women’s guidance home,” and the phrase “application pursuant to the provisions of Article 71” in Paragraph 3 of the same article shall be read as “decision pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 27 of the Prostitution Prevention Law.” 3: When a person on provisional discharge is detained pursuant to the provisions of Article 73, Paragraph 1 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law, as applied mutatis mutandis in the preceding paragraph, the number of days of the detention shall be included in the period of the guidance disposition. 4: When provisional discharge is canceled, the prosecutor may issue a recommitment warrant for custody. 5: The recommitment warrant must include the name, residence, age of the person whose provisional discharge has been canceled, the women’s guidance home to which they should be committed, and other necessary matters for commitment. 6: The provisions of Article 22, Paragraphs 3 to 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the recommitment warrant. However, the execution of the recommitment warrant may also be carried out by a probation officer, in addition to the persons specified in Paragraph 3 of the same article.

(Application Exclusion of Administrative Procedure Law) Article 27-2: The provisions of Chapters 2 to 4-2 of the Administrative Procedure Law (Law No. 88 of 1993) shall not apply to dispositions and administrative guidance made pursuant to the provisions of Article 24 to the preceding article and the provisions of the Rehabilitation Protection Law applied mutatis mutandis in Article 29.

(Request for Review) Article 28: A person who is dissatisfied with a disposition made by the local committee pursuant to the provisions of this law or the provisions of the Rehabilitation Protection Law applied mutatis mutandis in this law may request a review by the Central Rehabilitation Protection Review Board. 2: The provisions of Articles 93 to 95 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the review request of the preceding paragraph, and the provisions of Article 96 of the same law shall apply mutatis mutandis to the lawsuit for cancellation of the disposition specified in the same paragraph. In this case, the phrase “to a juvenile prison” in Article 93, Paragraph 1 of the same law shall be read as “to a juvenile prison or a women’s guidance home,” the phrase “or the head of the juvenile prison” in the same article shall be read as “, the head of the juvenile prison, or the head of the women’s guidance home,” and the phrase “sixty days” in Article 95 of the same law shall be read as “thirty days.”

(Application of Rehabilitation Protection Law) Article 29: The provisions of Article 96-2, Paragraph 1, Article 97, and Article 98, Paragraph 1 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law shall apply mutatis mutandis to review requests against dispositions or inaction by the local committee or the head of the probation office pursuant to the provisions of this law or the provisions of the Rehabilitation Protection Law applied mutatis mutandis in this law.

(Effect of Provisional Discharge) Article 30: When a person who has been granted provisional discharge has not had the provisional discharge canceled and has passed the remaining period of the guidance disposition, the execution thereof shall be deemed to have been completed.

(Emergency Protection for Rehabilitation) Article 31: A person who has been discharged from the women’s guidance home and a person deemed to have completed the execution of the guidance disposition pursuant to the provisions of the preceding article shall be deemed to be a person listed in Item 1 of Article 85, Paragraph 1 of the Rehabilitation Protection Law, and the provisions of Article 85 to Article 87 and Article 98 of the same law shall apply. In this case, the phrases “criminal proceedings or protective measures” in Article 85, Paragraph 1, Article 85, Paragraph 4, and Article 86, Paragraph 2 of the same law shall be read as “guidance disposition,” the phrase “prosecutor, head of the criminal facility, or head of the juvenile prison” in the same provisions shall be read as “head of the women’s guidance home,” the phrase “prosecutor involved in the criminal proceedings or the head of the criminal facility (or the head of the prison, if the person was detained in a labor camp) or the head of the juvenile prison” in Article 85, Paragraph 3 of the same law shall be read as “head of the women’s guidance home where the person was committed,” and the phrase “a person who became subject to Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of the preceding article upon completion of the parole period or a person who became subject to Item 9 of the same paragraph upon termination of the provisional discharge” in the proviso to Paragraph 3 of the same article shall be read as “a person deemed to have completed the execution of the guidance disposition pursuant to the provisions of Article 30 of the Prostitution Prevention Law.”

(Shortening of the Probationary Period) Article 32 For those who have been discharged from the Women’s Guidance Institute and those who are deemed to have completed the execution of the guidance disposition pursuant to the provisions of Article 30, it shall be considered that they have passed the probationary period for the execution of the sentence at the time of discharge or when the execution of the guidance disposition is deemed to have been completed. 2 In the case of a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment or confinement for both the crime prescribed in Article 5 and another crime, and has been subjected to guidance disposition, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not apply, except when the person is sentenced based on the penalty for the crime prescribed in Article 5 in accordance with the provisions of Article 54, Paragraph 1 of the Penal Code. (Expiration of the Guidance Disposition) Article 33 When the probationary period for the execution of a sentence has passed, or when the other effects of the sentence are lost, or when the probationary period for the execution of the sentence is revoked, the disposition of the guidance disposition shall lose its effect. Chapter 4 Protection and Rehabilitation (Women’s Counseling Centers) Article 34 Prefectures must establish women’s counseling centers. 2 Designated cities as specified in Article 252-19, Paragraph 1 of the Local Autonomy Law (Law No. 67 of 1947) (hereinafter referred to as “designated cities”) may establish women’s counseling centers. 3 Women’s counseling centers shall mainly perform the following duties regarding the protection and rehabilitation of girls at risk of engaging in prostitution due to their behavior or environment (hereinafter referred to as “girls in need of protection”): (1) Provide consultations on various issues related to girls in need of protection. (2) Conduct necessary investigations, medical, psychological, and vocational assessments for girls in need of protection and their families, and provide necessary guidance in connection with these activities. (3) Provide temporary protection for girls in need of protection. 4 A director and other necessary staff shall be appointed at the women’s counseling center. 5 Women’s counseling centers must have facilities for the temporary protection of girls in need of protection. 6 Other necessary matters concerning women’s counseling centers shall be prescribed by a Cabinet Order. (Women’s Counseling Officers) Article 35 The governor of a prefecture (including the mayor of a designated city with a women’s counseling center, the same applies in Article 38, Paragraph 1, Item 2) shall appoint women’s counseling officers from among those who have social credibility and the necessary enthusiasm and insight to perform the duties prescribed in the following paragraph. 2 The mayor (excluding the mayor of a designated city with a women’s counseling center) may appoint women’s counseling officers from among those who have social credibility and the necessary enthusiasm and insight to perform the duties prescribed in the next paragraph. 3 Women’s counseling officers shall strive to discover girls in need of protection, respond to consultations, provide necessary guidance, and perform other related duties. (Women’s Protection Facilities) Article 36 Prefectures may establish facilities (hereinafter referred to as “women’s protection facilities”) for accommodating and protecting girls in need of protection. (Reporting, etc., by Women’s Counseling Center Directors) Article 36-2 The director of a women’s counseling center shall, when deeming it appropriate to implement maternal and child protection as prescribed in Article 23, Paragraph 2 of the Child Welfare Law (Law No. 164 of 1947) for unmarried women or those in similar circumstances and their children under their care, report or notify the head of the prefecture, city, town, or village (including special wards) responsible for the implementation of the maternal and child protection. (Cooperation from Social Welfare Commissioners, etc.) Article 37 Social welfare commissioners as defined in the Social Welfare Commissioner Law (Law No. 198 of 1948), child welfare commissioners as defined in the Child Welfare Law, probation officers as defined in the Probation Officer Law (Law No. 204 of 1950), those engaged in rehabilitation protection business as defined in the Rehabilitation Protection Business Law (Law No. 86 of 1995), and human rights commissioners as defined in the Human Rights Commissioners Law (Law No. 139 of 1949) shall cooperate with women’s counseling centers and women’s counseling officers in the implementation of this law. (Support from Prefectures and Cities) Article 38 Prefectures (including designated cities with a women’s counseling center, the same applies in Article 40, Paragraphs 1 and 2, Item 1) shall bear the following expenses (limited to the expenses listed in Items 1, 2, and 5 for designated cities with a women’s counseling center): 1 Expenses required for women’s counseling centers (excluding the expenses listed in Item 5). 2 Expenses required for women’s counseling officers appointed by the governor of the prefecture. 3 Expenses required for the equipment of women’s protection facilities established by the prefecture. 4 Expenses required for accommodation, protection, and related administrative work conducted by the prefecture (including cases entrusted to cities, towns, villages, social welfare corporations, or other appropriate entities). 5 Expenses required for temporary protection conducted by women’s counseling centers. 2 Cities (excluding designated cities with a women’s counseling center, the same applies in Article 40, Paragraph 2, Item 2) shall bear the expenses required for women’s counseling officers appointed by the mayor.

(Article 39: Subsidies by Prefectures) Article 39: Prefectures may subsidize up to three-fourths of the expenses required for the facilities of women’s protection institutions established by social welfare corporations.

(Article 40: National Burden and Subsidies) Article 40: The nation shall bear five-tenths of the expenses paid by prefectures pursuant to the provisions of Article 38, Paragraph 1, for the items listed in Items 1 and 5 of the same paragraph, as prescribed by Cabinet Order.

2. Within the budgetary limits, the nation may subsidize up to five-tenths of the following expenses: (i) Of the expenses paid by prefectures pursuant to the provisions of Article 38, Paragraph 1, those listed in Items 2 and 4 of the same paragraph (limited to those listed in Item 2 in the case of designated cities establishing women’s consultation offices). (ii) The expenses paid by cities pursuant to the provisions of Article 38, Paragraph 2.

風俗営業等の規制及び業務の適正化等に関する法律

https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/document?lawid=323AC0000000122