Description of major types of commercial sex services used in Japan
| Type | Lifetime use (%)* | Description |
| Soapland | 30.6 | Soaplands (sōpurando) are bathhouse-like establishments in which male clients have their bodies washed by a female staff in a private room. Services may also include erotic massages using personal lubricant and usually include penetrative intercourse. Notably, soaplands are the only government-licensed facilities in which vaginal intercourse often occurs. |
| Call services | 27.1 | There are two types of call services: (1) ‘fashion health’ (fasshonherusu) refers to selecting a sex worker at a brothel who may perform erotic massages and oral sex; penetrative intercourse may be offered at an extra charge; (2) ‘delivery health’ (deribarīherusu or deriheru) resembles ‘fashion health’ except that sex workers meet clients at their homes or hotels (hence ‘delivery’). |
| Pink salon | 19.5 | Pink salons (pinku saron or pinsaro) are commercial sex establishments consisting of several cubicle-like areas where sex workers perform oral sex. |
| Sexy cabaret | 15.2 | Sexy cabaret (sekushī kyabakura or sekukyaba) is a specific type of cabaret club (eg, bars with female staff that cater to men, also called ‘hostess bars’) but differs from typical clubs in that sexual services may be purchased. |
| Erotic massage | 12.9 | Erotic massages take place at massage parlours (sometimes called menzu esute) that involve a focus on the genitals and in some instances may permit mutual fondling. Unlike soaplands, penetrative intercourse is not generally included as part of the service. |
| Image club | 6.0 | Image clubs (imēji kurabu or imekura) are commercial sex establishments in which staff dress in costumes (eg, schoolgirls or nurses) and perform massages and other sexual services, including sexual intercourse. |
| Rentboy services | 2.4 | Rentboy services (urisen) generally refer to young male sex workers who primarily cater to homosexual men; it is analogous to call services except for a strictly male clientele. Notably, male sex work is not regulated under Japanese law, and anal sex is not technically prohibited under laws concerning sex work in general. |
*Reported lifetime use among men aged 20–49 years previously reported in a descriptive analysis of NInJaS data (Ghaznavi et al 6).
NInJaS, National Inventory of Japanese Sexual Behavior.