Monday, January 28, 2013

17 'relaxation' establishments raided; 76 high school girls in custody

TOKYO - Police in Tokyo on Sunday conducted simultaneous raids on 17 establishments in Tokyo for using high school girls to perform “relaxation services.” Police said 115 girls aged between 16 and 22 were taken out of the establishments. Of those, 76 were younger than 18 and were taken into custody, according to a TBS report on Monday.

The establishments, known as “JK rifure,” which is a contraction of the Japanese for “high school girl massage,” allow customers to receive massages from high school girls and to sleep next to them in private rooms. Police say such establishments, with names like “sweet jewel,” have been appearing at a rapid rate across the country, with around 80 having now opened in the center of Tokyo, most of them in Akihabara.

TBS said that police raids revealed that some establishments had been knowingly breaking the law by employing girls under the age of 18. Police say that dozens of young girls were taken into care in the raids.

According to police, many of the girls said they were introduced to the job by their friends who said they could earn up to 20,000 yen a day, TBS reported.

source: japantoday.com