In Japan, the term "fuzoku" refers to the sex industry. It's different from the term "mizu shoubai", which refers more to the type of hosting you'll see in Sega's yakuza games. Fuzoku is sex, in its many forms and flavors. According to an estimate by a woman's fashion website, it's possible one in ten Japanese women in their twenties have worked in the sex industry. Caution : what follows is not suitable for work or young children.
Hostessing has been called "psychological prostitution", and the focus is on flirting with the all-too-often unfulfilled promise of sex. Fuzoku is sex, in one form or another, for money. As long as it's not vaginal sex, which is illegal, fuzoku is technically legal, meaning that paying for oral or, ahem, anal sex falls into a gray area.
Japan's Model Press wrote that it recently seems like that one in ten women in their twenties have worked in the fuzoku industry. There's some fuzzy math involved, and the number is based on a guestimate more than anything else. I don't quite buy it.
Model Press pointed out that there are over 5, fuzoku businesses in Tokyo. Five thousand seems slightly high for the number of fuzoku establishments, but then again, I haven't counted. If Model Press said there were 5, hostess bars in Tokyo, I might find that a little easier to believe. Also, if Model Press used facts and not hearsay, the number wouldn't seem so farfetched. However, according to this wiki on "Prostitution in Japan", Shinjuku alone has 3, fuzoku businesses.
The figure does not have citation. Outside Tokyo, the number of fuzoku business drops sharply. The numbers in small cities and small towns are either low or non-existent.
