Toward Revising the Anti-Prostitution Act: What PAPS Told the Ministry of Justice Study Group
- Jul 24
- 5 min read
Thank you, as always, for supporting PAPS and its work.
On April 7, 2026, PAPS was invited to the second meeting of the Ministry of Justice's "Study Group on the Regulation of Prostitution", where we spoke about the realities on the ground and the need for legal reform as seen from the field. The study group was established for the national government to review Japan's current laws and regulations concerning prostitution. In this newsletter, we report to our supporters on what PAPS conveyed and requested there.
What we see on the ground
PAPS conducts outreach around Kabukicho roughly 150 days a year, three times a week. Those we meet on the streets at night are mainly women in their teens and twenties.
Many of them face overlapping hardships—abuse, poverty, having no home they can stay in, host club debts, isolation, and poor physical and mental health—and are pushed into selling sex with extremely limited alternatives. Acts agreed to under such pressing circumstances—"I have nowhere to sleep tonight", "I have no home to go back to"—cannot be called a "choice" made of equal free will.
Meanwhile, most buyers of sex have stable incomes and housing. If the terms do not suit them, they can look for someone else, and being turned down does not immediately threaten their livelihood. There is a clear imbalance of power here.
And this situation does not end after a single occasion. Unstable housing damages physical and mental health; poor health makes it impossible to work; being unable to work leads to financial hardship—when one thing collapses, these difficulties cascade, and people circle through the same places again and again. As they come to feel "I chose this" or "it was my fault", seeking outside help becomes even harder. Situations in which people are compelled to sell sex are produced again and again within this cycle—not by any weakness of will.
Moreover, in recent years, words like "TACHINBO" and "Okubo Park" have spread through social media and video platforms, and street prostitution purchased by foreign visitors has become conspicuous. Japan is being consumed, both at home and abroad, as a place where sex can be bought cheaply.
Problems with the current law
The current Anti-Prostitution Act punishes solicitation by those who sell sex, while buyers bear almost no responsibility. As a result, many of those affected—even when subjected to violence, threats, or non-payment—cannot speak up for fear that they themselves will be prosecuted. The very people who suffer harm find it hardest to raise their voices, while buyers are rarely held accountable—a deep imbalance.
PAPS understands the sex trade not as a matter of "personal choice" or "self-responsibility", but as a problem of sexual exploitation constituted by the interlocking of demand, intermediary structures, and vulnerability. What is needed, therefore, is not punishing those involved, but stopping the structures that generate exploitation and building systems through which people pushed into selling sex can safely access support.
What PAPS requested
At the study group, we made the following six requests in order to shift from punishing those who sell sex to a system that holds accountable the structures generating exploitation.
Request 1: Rename the law the "Prostitution and Sex-Purchase Prevention Act"
The name "Anti-Prostitution Act" makes it look as though only those who sell sex are the problem. We called for renaming it the "Prostitution and Sex-Purchase Prevention Act" or the "Sex Trade Prevention Act", so that the name itself makes clear that buyers are also subject to the law. A law's name is a message to society about whose conduct is being questioned.
Request 2: Make solicitation by buyers punishable
Under the current law, solicitation by sellers is readily punished, while buyers face little accountability. PAPS called for bringing acts of soliciting the purchase of sex—on the street or on social media—within the scope of regulation, and, as an immediate priority, starting with the criminalization of solicitation by buyers.
Request 3: Do not punish those who sell sex—connect them to support
Punishing someone who has no place to live, is hounded by debt, and has no one to turn to leaves the problems driving them into that situation untouched. Worse, it pushes them away from support and into greater danger. We called for abolishing or drastically narrowing the provisions punishing solicitation by sellers, and for making it the rule that, when found, people are connected to welfare support rather than prosecuted.
Request 4: Strengthen support systems for housing, employment, and healthcare
The support people need spans housing, employment, psychological care, medical care, legal counseling, and more. Private organizations' efforts alone have their limits; public funding must be secured, and society as a whole must build systems people can safely turn to. PAPS called for greatly strengthening support systems for those affected.
Request 5: Write demand-reducing education and awareness into law as a national commitment
Ending sexual exploitation requires addressing the very demand of those who buy sex. PAPS called on the national government to commit to education and awareness efforts that communicate how buying sex can constitute exploitation of people in vulnerable positions.
Request 6: Regulate solicitation on social media and apps as well
The sex trade no longer takes place only on the street. Solicitation and propositions occur through social media and matching apps, sometimes drawing people into dangerous transactions. We called for a comprehensive response, including regulation of solicitation and propositions in digital spaces, and takedown obligations and reporting systems for platform operators.
Common to all these requests is the principle of not blaming those compelled to sell sex, but holding accountable the demand that exploits their situation and the mechanisms that produce exploitation. This aligns with the direction taken by Sweden, France, and many other countries: regulate the buyer, support the seller.
The materials can be downloaded here:
Toward a society that does not produce exploitation
What must be questioned is not the person standing on the street. It is the circumstances that put them there, and the demand of those who buy sex knowing full well what those circumstances are.
Changing the structures that produce exploitation.
Building a society where people can safely say "help me".
We see this study group as a rare opportunity to set that first step in motion as policy. PAPS will continue to work on both direct support and institutional reform, carrying with us the voice of each person we meet on the ground.
PAPS's work is sustained by your donations and encouragement. We would be grateful for your continued support as we carry on night outreach, counseling, creating safe spaces, and advocating for legal reform.
Thank you for your continued support.
