Professor in Japan Arrested for Running Illegal Sex Massage Parlor

By day, 49-year-old Takitani Hiroshi conducted life-saving research on earthquakes. By night, he was running an unlicensed sex shop.

By Jay Allen

There are plenty of sex-related businesses in Japan that you can run legally. You have to run them in the right location and get the right licensing. A group in Toyama did neither. The group, which includes a university professor who’s apparently had previous run-ins with the law, is now facing charges.

A sex massage parlor where a sex massage parlor shouldn’t have been

The controversy centers around Komorebi, a “men’s esute” (メンズエステ; from “aesthetic”) or men’s beauty parlor, in Nunose, Toyama, Toyama Prefecture. In the past, such shops focused on actual men’s cosmetological services, such as hair removal. In recent years, however, the name has become slang for a shop where female “therapists” offer sexual massage services to men.

A photo diary from some of Komorebi’s therapy staff.

Mind you, this is a legal service regulated by Japan’s Entertainment Law, or fūzoku law. It requires setting up shop in an area zoned for fūzoku…