Fake schoolgirl prostitution extortion ring busted by Tokyo police

”Let’s go to a hotel” turns into “You’re finished, dude!”

In August, a 30-something office worker was in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood when a 16-year-old first-year high school student made him an offer. “Let’s go to a hotel,” she said to the man, who’d never met her before, following up the solicitous offer by saying “I want 15,000 yen [US$140].”

That seemed like an attractive price to the man, but as you might expect, the bargain wasn’t struck with the intent of a research trip to further the girl’s education and interest in the hospitality industry. So they didn’t head to a fancy luxury hotel, but rather to one of Shibuya’s back-alley love hotels, which rent rooms by the hour to amorous couples. But as the pair entered their room, things suddenly got very crowded as a group of four teen boys also forced their way inside what the man had thought was going to be a space for two.

However, the boys weren’t a band of chivalrous guardian angels out to save the young lady from selling her body and self-respect. Instead, they were her accomplices, and they quickly launched into the extortion scheme they had planned out before the girl asked the man to take her to a hotel. “You’re finished, dude!” they told the man. “We’ve got pictures of you!”

It’s not clear whether or not the man agreed to purchase their silence, and if so how much it cost him. However, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police have now put an end to the operation and arrested the five teens. The group admitted that the girl went out as bait with the boys waiting nearby and tailing the target to the hotel, where they’d then force him to pay up if he didn’t want his underage prostitution attempt exposed. Reports refer to the teen boys, who are about 17 years old, as being “unemployed,” implying that they’re not enrolled in school (Japanese compulsory education stops after the ninth grade).

Also unclear is whether or not the man himself is facing any charges, as outright prostitution in banned in Japan, as are erotic services performed by a 16-year-old, though ostensibly, he could be claiming ignorance of the girl’s age at the time and denying that the 15,000 yen was meant as a gift, not for services rendered. That would, of course, make him sound like a gigantic idiot, but that’s probably a label he’s stuck with either way.

Sources: TV Asahi via Hachima Kiko, Nitele News 24, ANN News
Top image: Pakutaso
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