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Paying for prostitution isn’t illegal in Japan, but it could be soon

Casey Baseel Feb 11, 2026
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Ministry of Justice eyeing changes to Prostitution Prevention Law.

For our latest installment of “words they probably didn’t teach you in Japanese class,” let’s examine the word baishun. It’s written with two kanji characters, the first of which, 売, means “selling,” and the second, 春, meaning “spring.”

Knowing that, one might guess that baishun refers to the selling of some sort of seasonal produce harvested in the spring, or perhaps some other sort of vernal commercial activity, such as selling decorative flowers, or maybe that it has something to do with the rows of snack vendor stalls set up at cherry blossom festivals. Actually, though, in this case 春 is being used for spring’s connotation as a season of vitality and, by extension, virility, and baishun is, in fact, the Japanese word for prostitution.

Prostitution, in the sense of receiving money in exchange for sexual intercourse, is illegal in Japan. However, in a parallel to how baishun literally means “selling spring,” it’s only the selling side of prostitution that’s punishable by law in Japan, with customers who pay for the illegal services not facing any legal repercussions.

To be clear, the reason for this imbalance isn’t because of a hardline linguistic interpretation of the word baishun, and is more likely due to perceptions of prostitution providers who continually offer the service as more “criminal” in their behavior than customers, who could claim their involvement was a one-time transgression born of a moment of weakness. With the majority of prostitution in Japan involving men paying women for sex, one could also argue that the legal framework has some old-fashioned sexism built into it as well. In any case, though, the imbalance exists: receiving money for sex is illegal, but paying someone for sex carries no risk of legal punishment unless some other law was also broken (such as engaging in a sexual act with a minor).

It looks like that could be changing, however. On February 10, Japan’s Ministry of Justice announced that it will be forming a panel of experts to look into necessary revisions to be made to the current Prostitution Prevention Law, including implementing legal penalties for those who pay for the service.

▼ The days of “But officer, I only paid for the sex! The real criminals are the ones who provided it!” being a legitimate legal defense may be coming to an end.

The announcement comes following growing public unease with prostitutes becoming increasingly blatant about plying their services, with certain urban areas having developed a reputation as places where women will pretend to simply be loitering on the street, fiddling with their phones, until a customer approaches them and they negotiate a price. It’s also a semi-open secret that among erotic massage parlors and dispatch services there are those in which customers can, behind closed doors, pay an additional amount for intercourse. Following her appointment as Japan’s new prime minister last fall, Sanae Takamichi tasked Minster of Justice Hiroshi Hiraguchi with addressing the situation, and he himself announced the plans to form the panel of experts and begin discussions on revising the Prostitution Prevention Law.

A long-running issue in prostitution prevention in Japan is that there are many forms of non-intercourse sexual services that are legal, providing ample opportunities for desiring customers and willing providers to be alone and cross the line into full-blown prostitution in a secluded environment, leaving investigators with a low-percent chance of confirming and proving that the illegal activity took place. Extending penalties to those who pay for sex may not necessarily make convictions any easier, but since convictions do happen, the benefit would appear to be putting the fear of punishment into the minds of those thinking of paying for sex, so that even if they think they probably won’t get caught, they won’t want to take the risk.

Source: Nitele News via Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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