Experts warn, however, that an industry known as “the world’s oldest profession” will always find a way to circumvent new regulations and that the problem needs to be tackled from a number of angles simultaneously.
Ogata told the Asahi newspaper that the aim of the anti-prostitution law passed in 1956 was to eliminate the public nuisance of women soliciting for sex, as streetwalkers had a negative impact on social morals. The law might have targeted those who profited from the sex industry, but critics said it overlooked the men who were encouraging the sector as consumers.
Ogata said “there is a need for a fundamental discussion about what the law intends to protect” beyond the simple selling of sex.
Hidemori Gen, founder of the Seiboren Shinjuku Kaminokodome Temple organisation, welcomed the possibility of the law being changed.
