Sawt Falasteen - Tokyo police bust alleged prostitution ring targeting tourists

A record 36.8 million foreign visitors came to Japan last year, drawn partly by the weak yen -- a figure the government wants to almost double to 60 million annually by 2030.

But some campaigners have raised concerns that the tourism influx could also be boosting the sex industry.

A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that seven people, including a Brazilian national, had been arrested for running prostitution businesses under the guise of massage parlours for men in the central Kabukicho red-light district.

One of those arrested, a 54-year-old Japanese man named Kazuki Sudo, is believed to have headed the prostitution ring that ran from October and November last year, the spokesman said.

They allegedly created an English-language website because 60 to 70 percent of their clientele were from abroad, including from Asian countries and North America, Japan's Mainichi daily reported.

The newspaper said that the businesses employed foreign touts and payments were accepted in different currencies.

The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said one 25-year-old Malaysian man who used the group's services told police he wanted to "make memories" before returning home.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST