The Japanese Love Industry

Japan is a country that is dying—literally. Japan has more people over the age of 65 and the smallest number of people under the age of 15 in the world. It has the fastest negative population growth in the world, and that's because hardly anyone is having babies. In these difficult times, the Japanese are putting marriage and families on the back burner and seeking recreational love and affection as a form of cheap escape with no strings attached. We sent Ryan Duffy to investigate this phenomenon, which led him to Tokyo's cuddle cafes and Yakuza-sponsored prostitution rings.

Watch more VICE Documentaries here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Documentaries

Subscribe to VICE here! http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE
Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos
Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com
Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice
Follow VICE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vice
Read our tumblr: http://vicemag.tumblr.com

[MUSIC PLAYING]

RYAN DUFFY: So here in Tokyo,
the girls, the nightlife,

the clubs, everything is
controlled by those guys.

So they suggested
to us that maybe we

need to prove ourselves to them
in order to get to hang out

and to get that access.

So here we are with a little bit
of male bonding Yakuza style.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So it wasn't too long ago
that Japan was a rising power

on the international stage.

Now it has the steepest
population decline

in the world.

And you wonder, well,
why is that happening?

It's because people aren't
spending any time together.

They're not getting married,
and they're not having babies.

According to government surveys,
nearly 50% of Japanese women,

aged 18 to 34, are single.

And more than 60% of men the
same age are single as well.

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

WOMAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Part of the
equation is definitely

changing gender roles,
which has created

a new generation of
economically empowered women

who no longer want to be tied
down to housework or childcare.

WOMAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

WOMAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Others blame
the men, a generation

obsessed with virtual
reality and so

intimidated by real women that
they prefer cyber girlfriends

over real relationships.

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Now these are
all interesting theories.

But there's another one
evident on the streets

of Yakuza controlled Tokyo.

In a country that
commidifies everything,

sex cells, and the
Japanese are buying.

Japan has a seemingly
endless menu

of relationship
replacement services,

where you can essentially
replicate anything

you'd get from a relationship,
be it sexual, emotional,

or otherwise, without actually
having to have a boyfriend

or girlfriend.

And now Japan is known
at the graying nation.

With more people over 65
and less people under 15

than anywhere else
in the world, Japan

has the fastest growing
negative population on Earth.

By the end of this
century, Japan's population

is expected to shrink by half.

And believe it or
not, the country

actually sells more adult
diapers than baby diapers.

And the face of this
decaying nation is this guy.

He might look like a
stripper, but he's not.

He's what the
Japanese call a host.

And believe it or not,
he's one of the reasons

why they aren't having babies.

[CHEERING]

So we're here at one of
many host clubs in Tokyo,

where single women come, just
like these women right here,

and get lavished with
the kind of attention

that they wouldn't get if they
went to just a typical bar.

Instead of taking
their chances dating,

more and more Japanese women
are paying for companionship

by coming to places like this.

Host clubs charge by
the hour, with prices

usually in the hundreds
of dollars for nothing

more than conversation.

When women sit down, what
do they want from you?

Do they want to be
lavished with attention?

Do they just want you to listen?

Do they want you
to touch their arm?

NAOKI KISHIDA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Bullshit.

MICHELLE PAYNE:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

NAOKI KISHIDA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MICHELLE PAYNE:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: $800,000 a year,
to sit here and listen to women

talk.

NAOKI KISHIDA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Normal
for him maybe,

but it's a pretty weird
place to be hanging out.

There's lots of
flirting, and the girls

seem to be enjoying
themselves, but nobody

is getting laid here.

And the craziest part is
that no one seems to mind.

We're not talking about
cougars or misfits either.

These are attractive,
single women,

mostly in their 20s and 30s,
just like club regular Mayo.

You're single.

MAYO: Yes.

RYAN DUFFY: And are you
like actively looking

for a boyfriend, or you don't
want a boyfriend, or what's

your deal?

MAYO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MICHELLE PAYNE: She
doesn't want a boyfriend.

Why?

RYAN DUFFY: Why not?

MAYO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Right.

MICHELLE PAYNE:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

No, it's not.

MAYO: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: And women aren't
the only ones disillusioned

with love in Japan.

In Tokyo, there are more
than 200 hostess clubs

for men, where a few
hundred bucks can get you

all the female attention
you could ever want.

What are you expected
to do for that hour

with a guy who comes down and
plops down a bit of money?

WOMAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: But the host
and hostess bars are just

the tip of the iceberg.

In Japan today, there's a whole
industry of pseudo romance

services to fit every need.

If you like anime, you can pay
$70 an hour to go on a date

with a girl dressed up like
your favorite character.

Or maybe having sex with
dolls is more your thing.

Thankfully, there's
a guy for that, too.

And if you just want to take the
day off and do some cuddling,

well, you're in luck.

Hi, how you doing?

Hello.

Oh, I just got a real strong
pang of not wanting to do this.

So we're here at a
cuddle cafe in Tokyo.

These people have
been kind enough

to build what looks like a
daycare center for toddlers,

where grownups can lie
down and talk to strangers

about their feelings, which
I'm about to do, reluctantly,

very, very, very reluctantly.

I want that on record.

Let's see the menu of services.

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: OK

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Why?

Freud would have field day here.

Hello.

Great, hi.

So I think I just want to get
a little bit of everything,

like an appetizer platter.

SAKURA SERIZAWA: OK.

RYAN DUFFY: How
does that work then?

Oh, very nice.

This looks very comfortable.

Thank you.

Do you have irregulars?

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Oh, really?

What about you?

Do you have a boyfriend?

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Of course not?

Why of course?

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Do you
ever want a boyfriend?

Or do you think just stuff
like this will suffice?

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Wow.

Oh, my god.

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: That's
interesting for someone

who is affectionate to
strangers for a living.

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: OK.

I think I've had
enough of the arm.

I think maybe we should
elevate our relationship

to some kind of cosplay.

Maybe the French maid outfit.

Oh, that is very involved.

Looks Victorian, basically.

We can do the, maybe the staring
into each other's eyes thing.

Nothing is weirder than this.

This is profoundly,
profoundly disturbing.

To culminate our
time together, I

was hoping I could
lie in your lap

while you pick ear
wax out of my ears.

We're just adding a layer of,
like, mom into the girlfriend.

So it's a mixture of a mom
activity and girlfriend

activity.

She's really going
to town in there.

I think we're probably clean.

Either way, we should stop this,
because it's freaking me out.

Ans she's cleaning my brain.

Do you know what I owe
you for everything?

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: 7,000 yen.

So, 7,000 yen?

Thank you, very much.

SAKURA SERIZAWA:
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: I've seen a lot
of perverse things in my life,

but this pseudo romance
actually really got to me.

We felt like it was time for
something a bit more real.

And we knew exactly
who could take us

from the pretend cuddling
into the harder depths

of the illegal underworld.

Headed to meet the Yakuza.

I'm really looking
forward to fearing

for my life for a few hours
and then having new friends.

The Yakuza are Japan's
notoriously violent

organized crime syndicate.

And they're well-known for
their disdain for Western media.

They've agreed to a
rare dinner meeting

in the middle of
Kabukicho, Tokyo's

notorious Red Light District.

If we wanted to see
the real outer edges

of Japan's sex industry,
we'd come to the right place.

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Cheers.

So I guess, kind of
to jump right into it,

this is my first time
in Japan, and one

of the things that I think
the Western world is most

fascinated by is this
just sex culture thing,

the hostess bars, the rabbit
hole of really weird shit

you can dive into.

How involved is the Yakuza
in that particular industry?

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Oh, what is it?

What is this?

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Yeah, that one,
the thing in the bowl there,

very nice, thank you.

Is it good?

MAN: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Really?

MAN: [INAUDIBLE]

RYAN DUFFY: Oh, good god,
why did I smell it first?

That was just fucking stupid.

OK, yeah.

After earning their
trust, they agreed

to show us some of the
locals only services.

But they wouldn't tell me
exactly what they had planned,

just that I was to arrive at
the Hyatt Hotel at midnight.

So I still don't know
what we're doing.

But I do know that it's not--

it's frowned upon,
whatever it is.

So it's --

MICHELLE PAYNE:
Somewhat illegal.

RYAN DUFFY: Somewhat illegal.

MICHELLE PAYNE: Mm hmm.

RYAN DUFFY: So it's
shrouded in secrecy.

MICHELLE PAYNE: Mm hmm.

RYAN DUFFY: And now we're going
underground into a parking

garage beneath the hotel.

And we're going to
have to hid the camera,

and go up to some room,
and wait for some person

to come do something
that we don't

know what they're going to do.

YUI TOKUI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: Please
don't hurt my balls.

I'm a fragile dude.

That's fucking tight.

Ow.

YUI TOKUI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: That's my penis.

YUI TOKUI: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]

RYAN DUFFY: OK, all
right, all right.

I can't believe
people pay for this.

Ow, holy fuck.

Ow.

Ow, god damn it.

[SPEAKING JAPANESE]

And as I crouched
in this hotel room,

being whipped and
humiliated, this whole idea

of a graying nation kind
of really came into focus.

The host clubs, the
cuddle cafes, and even

this fetish stuff,
the Japanese, who

are so used to
commodifying everything,

have managed to distill each
part of a human relationship

into a buyable
package, with dating,

marriage, and eventually
babies falling by the wayside.

[MUSIC PLAYING]