PINK INDUSTRY

In Japan things of a sexual nature are associated with the color pink, rather than the 'blue' used in the West. The Pink Industry, sometimes known as the 'Ejaculation Industry', is Japan's sex industry, and is huge by any standard. Estimates as to its economic size vary wildly, but 20 billion U.S. dollars p.a. is the average. If Japan's sex industry was a country, it would have the world's 60th largest economy. Surveys suggest that half of all Japanese men have paid for sex, and 10% patronize the Pink Industry regularly. For men in their 20s, that figure jumps to 20%. There seems to be no difficulty finding women to work in the pink establishments either. There are 3 weekly papers comprised solely of want-ads for sex workers, and numerous "alibi" businesses that provide a cover for sex-workers who wish to hide their vocation from family and friends. One news magazine extrapolated that one in sixteen women between the ages of 20 and 24 work in the industry, and while this figure may have been calculated for its sensation value, it compares with official government statistics from 1929 that counted one in every thirty women between the ages of 18 and 29 as licensed prostitutes. Japan has a long history of legal licensed prostitution, predating even the famed pleasure quarter of Yoshiwara in old Edo, but in 1956 (on April 1st, which may be significant) prostitution was made illegal. However, for the purpose of the law, sex is defined quite narrowly as the conjoining of genitals, which means that manual sex, oral sex, even anal sex, are not covered. Incidentally, a woman paying a man for sex is not illegal either. Despite the anti-prostitution law, brothels still operate openly. In Tobita, an area of Osaka not marked on English-language maps, 100 traditional brothels still operate, but most sex businesses now are called Soaplands, Fashion-Health massage parlors, Pink Salons, or Image Clubs and may be found in any town.