On the morning of the 2nd, Ryota Oishi (25 years of age) and Reiya Sakaguchi (25 years of age), manager and employee respectively of “META”, a men’s concept cafe in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, were escorted from the premises by an investigator. The two had been arrested for allegedly violating the Adult Entertainment Business Act between January and February 2023 by allowing a 15-year-old high school student to enter their establishment despite knowing her age. This incident follows Sakaguchi’s previous arrest for engaging in lewd acts with another female minor at her residence, after which he was sent to prosecution.
According to reports, the female high school student had become acquainted with Sakaguchi through a social media platform and was in debt to his store, “tsuke,” to the amount of 600,000 yen (USD 4,368.00). It is believed that Oishi and his colleague threatened the girl, claiming they would inform her parents if she was unable to pay up. This matter came to light after a police officer accompanied them. On April 30th, officials from the Metropolitan Police Department searched the concept cafe and confiscated items such as a table of sake menu options and various champagnes ranging in cost from 30,000 yen (USD 218.00) to 200,000 yen (USD 1,456.00), as well as some priced from 250,000 yen (USD1,820.00) to 600,000 yen (USD 4368.00), an amount which would be too steep for any high schooler’s budget. Law enforcement believes th young girl may have been coerced into purchasing expensive alcohol in order for it to contribute towards sales at the store.
During the inquiry, Oishi asserted his innocence by declaring that he had no knowledge or recollection of the victim’s age, while Sakaguchi also attested that he could not recall allowing the individual to enter the premises. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has experienced a surge in requests from parents regarding men’s concept cafes, with 52 cases reported in 2022 and 33 instances in 2023.en’s concept