Number of non-store based sex businesses in Japan 2023, by type
In 2023, the number of so-called fashion health businesses not operating from a fixed location in the Japanese sex industry amounted to 21.14 thousand. While the term fashion health usually refers to adult-only massage parlors, this non-store based version of fashion health describes a call service dispatching employees to provide their services in love hotels or at the customer's home.
While prostitution is officially illegal in Japan, the domestic adult entertainment industry took advantage of legal loopholes to work around this ban. Businesses falling under the category of adult entertainment include, among others, adult-only bathhouses, strip clubs, massage parlors, love hotels, call-girl services, as well as video- and phone-based services.