17 Vietnamese Women Arrested over Unauthorized "Girl Bars"

   Tokyo, Oct. 21 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police have arrested 17 Vietnamese women for allegedly operating five "girl bars" without authorization in violation of the adult entertainment business law.
   The bars, located in areas including Tokyo's Ueno and Roppongi districts, earned sales totaling about 440 million yen between March 2019 and September this year, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
   Of the 17 suspects, 28-year-old company executive Duong Thi Minh Hong and nine others have admitted the allegations, while the other seven have denied some charges.
   A resident of Tokyo's Taito Ward, Duong allegedly made a female employee serve customers over the counter at one of the bars, in the Yushima district in Bunkyo Ward of the Japanese capital, in September this year, despite not having obtained approval from authorities under the law.
   Girl bars are mainly those where female staff employees serve alcoholic drinks to and chat with customers over the counter.

(2024/10/21-15:37)