Fake ID’s and Enjo Kosai
The journalists over at Crisscross Japan have brought us yet another hard hitting story. This time the topic is enjo kosai in Japan:
“I wouldn’t get a fake ID,” says “Satomi,” a second-year high school student and one of Friday’s Shibuya street contacts. “That’s like crime. Well, maybe if I was really hard up for money, I’d go that route so I could work in a ‘kyabakura’ (cabaret club).” Meanwhile, she says, ‘enjo kosai’ (underage street prostitution) nets her all the cash she needs. And you don’t need an ID for that.
Do you need one for club work? The anecdotal evidence Friday hears suggests you often don’t. Just say you’re 18, and if you’re good-looking enough, most clubs will let it go at that. And if the Shibuya clubs give you a hard time — because after all, being at the center of the action they’re watched relatively closely — venues just outside the quarter generally turn a blind eye.
It’s a good thing she didn’t get that fake ID, or she might be a criminal!
