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The controversial cult of the host club in Japan
Why women pay men in make-up to flatter them.
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Feminist groups accuse host clubs of exploitation: overcharging for drinks and manipulating clients into racking up huge tabs.
PHOTO: AFP
The Economist
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In Kabukicho, a red-light district in Tokyo, four young men surround your female correspondent. Mr Hiragi Saren, a 25-year-old with bleached hair, a black tank top and a silver necklace, sits closest.
He chatters warmly and glances seductively, his pink eyeshadow glimmering under the chandeliers. His three assistants keep filling the correspondent’s shochu glass and shower her with compliments about her appearance. She doubts their sincerity, but is strangely pleased. After an hour and a half, the bill is 30,000 yen (S$260).
