Music/singing
SIMKIN: Meet Reiji. Entertainer, businessman, multi-millionaire. Hes amassed a fortune by knowing what women want and giving it to them.
REIJI: Twenty years ago, I was cooking fried noodles in a roadside stall. Now, I am celebrated by everyone. Thankyou very much!
SIMKIN: Reiji is a host. This is his club and these are his employees, men specially trained to flatter and flirt with female customers. Tonight though, its Reiji whos getting all the attention. Its his birthday and some of his clients have turned up for a party that will last 48 hours.
WOMAN: He understands the character of any woman immediately and gives his love fairly to all women, in various forms.
SIMKIN: The consumption is conspicuous. Here the host drinks from a ten thousand dollar bottle of cognac. Reiji can afford to smile. The customers are paying for the drinks so the more he consumes, the more he profits.
REIJI: This is my favourite drink!
SIMKIN: Some of the champagne sells for three thousand dollars a pop.
MAN: As a male geisha, I have always treated my customers with due respect, and hope for their happiness. The most expensive birthday present I ever received from a client was a car a Mercedes Benz and I was also given a parcel of land.
SIMKIN: From Madame Butterfly to geisha, Japanese women have traditionally been seen as subservient, particularly by the west -- thats why host clubs are so interesting; places where the stereotypes are turned on their heads. Their popularity is booming, reflecting some fascinating changes in Japanese society.
At a host club like this one, theres an hourly charge and the customer has to pay for whatever she and her hosts drink. It adds up. One customer once spent ninety thousand dollars in a single night. The blokes are expected to be good looking, dutiful and able to handle vast amounts of liquor.
A sense of rhythm is also important. Each night the hosts perform for their adoring customers. This being a host club, I was expecting some sort of strip show, and thats how it seemed at first. But as the performance progressed, the dancers started putting gear on not taking it off. Rather than the Full Monty, it was more like the full Monty Python.
Japanese women love things that are kawaii or cute. Guys dressed as cats are considered very kawaii.
WOMAN: I like the buzz. They are cool, and their actions are also cool. I come to watch them repeatedly.
SIMKIN: Japans adult entertainment industry, the water trade as its known, is massive in scope and scale. It covers everything, from special clubs for men who like to grope schoolgirls on trains, to upmarket hostess bars. The industry is worth a hundred billion dollars a year.
For decades the host clubs were a small and sleazy part of the spectrum. Not any more. Reiji is taking them up market. In the last two years, one hundred new clubs have opened in Tokyo alone and Reiji is so busy, he needs a weekly vitamin cocktail to keep going. Reiji: I am revitalised. SIMKIN: Hes in huge demand as a corporate consultant, telling companies like this one how women think.
REIJI: This product is a lethal weapon for women. By using this, a woman can feel confident when they get up in the morning.
SIMKIN: The clubs clients are hardly lonely losers. Central to Reijis success is the realisation that many Japanese women are fed up with their traditional roles. Divorce rates, while still low by western standards, have doubled in a decade. The vast majority initiated by women. More and more young women are putting off marriage altogether, preferring to stay in the workforce.
REIJI: Women want something more than Disneyland.
At Disneyland the customers all have the same experience. Women are not satisfied with that anymore. Women who are tired and need a break want to go somewhere that is original and talk to people who understand them.
SIMKIN: Yuri Miyajima has a high paying job but still lives with her parents. What she saves on rent she spends at the club. Guy: Welcome! Are you alone?Yuri: Yes.Guy: Let me take your bag.Yuri: Yes please.Guy: Please come this way.
SIMKIN: Yuri-san is whats known as a parasite single and its estimated there are eleven million of them, living at home but financially independent.
YURI-SAN: Ours has been a male dominated society but there are big changes underway. Some of the distinctions between men and women are disappearing -- thats why I think its not just men that should be allowed to enjoy themselves at night -- women should also be allowed to be entertained.
SIMKIN: Its not that Yuri-san cant get a date, far from it she tells me, but because hosts are less hassle, less risk and less high maintenance than regular boyfriends. She likes nothing better than taking one shopping.
YURI-SAN: A host puts the emphasis on my enjoyment and listens to my worries. I can just be myself. A boyfriend will restrict me. I would always have to take his feelings into consideration.
SIMKIN: Japanese men seem to like the idea of being paid to drink and flirt with women. Fifty of them apply for a job at the club each month, quickly learning the company creed.
GROUP REPEATING AFTER TEACHER: Welcome! Excuse me... I am sorry... Thank you for the drinks... Thank you very much... I look forward to being with you.
SIMKIN: Special classes are held to teach newcomers the art of seduction. The rules are laid out. Never ask a client her age, job, religion or marital status. Smiles are carefully crafted. Bowing techniques practiced and perfected, the right angle is crucial.
TEACHER TO TRAINEE HOST: It is a bit shallow. Kotaro, your bow is too deep. Kotaro your back is curved -- please straighten it.
SIMKIN: It might seem like fun but the host business is big business. The competition fierce, the pressure to perform intense.
REIJI: I want hosts who wear dirty shoes to quit the club. I do not need that type of person. I do not like a person who is not cool and wears dirty clothes.
SIMKIN: Ninety per cent of the recruits drop out within a few weeks.
PANTHER: Everybody is a rival.
And as you can imagine, I can never say no to a woman. The customers who sit at my table are gods. No matter how much sake is poured, I cannot refuse, and must drink it all.
SIMKIN: Panther is one of the stayers. Hes been hosting for more than three years. Sometimes the 24 year old does say no to a woman. As far as hes concerned, a high-class host should sell the illusion of romance, not his body.
PANTHER: I work to sell dreams. I wear a different face at work and at home. I have to be whatever the customer wants. Fundamentally though, my character is the younger brother. I try to appear cute like the womans younger brother and appeal to her maternal instincts.
SIMKIN: The tactic works. He earns as much as twenty thousand dollars a month, but theres a catch. Panther is lionised by women in the club but not exactly fawned over out of it. This retail Romeo is so busy keeping customers happy he hasnt had a real girlfriend in four years. Evidence if you need it that in the world of hosts, a lot of money can buy you romance, but not love.
Reporter: Mark Simkin
Camera: Jun Matsuzono
Editor: Garth Thomas
Research: Yayoi Eguchi
SIMKIN: Meet Reiji. Entertainer, businessman, multi-millionaire. Hes amassed a fortune by knowing what women want and giving it to them.
REIJI: Twenty years ago, I was cooking fried noodles in a roadside stall. Now, I am celebrated by everyone. Thankyou very much!
SIMKIN: Reiji is a host. This is his club and these are his employees, men specially trained to flatter and flirt with female customers. Tonight though, its Reiji whos getting all the attention. Its his birthday and some of his clients have turned up for a party that will last 48 hours.
WOMAN: He understands the character of any woman immediately and gives his love fairly to all women, in various forms.
SIMKIN: The consumption is conspicuous. Here the host drinks from a ten thousand dollar bottle of cognac. Reiji can afford to smile. The customers are paying for the drinks so the more he consumes, the more he profits.
REIJI: This is my favourite drink!
SIMKIN: Some of the champagne sells for three thousand dollars a pop.
MAN: As a male geisha, I have always treated my customers with due respect, and hope for their happiness. The most expensive birthday present I ever received from a client was a car a Mercedes Benz and I was also given a parcel of land.
SIMKIN: From Madame Butterfly to geisha, Japanese women have traditionally been seen as subservient, particularly by the west -- thats why host clubs are so interesting; places where the stereotypes are turned on their heads. Their popularity is booming, reflecting some fascinating changes in Japanese society.
At a host club like this one, theres an hourly charge and the customer has to pay for whatever she and her hosts drink. It adds up. One customer once spent ninety thousand dollars in a single night. The blokes are expected to be good looking, dutiful and able to handle vast amounts of liquor.
A sense of rhythm is also important. Each night the hosts perform for their adoring customers. This being a host club, I was expecting some sort of strip show, and thats how it seemed at first. But as the performance progressed, the dancers started putting gear on not taking it off. Rather than the Full Monty, it was more like the full Monty Python.
Japanese women love things that are kawaii or cute. Guys dressed as cats are considered very kawaii.
WOMAN: I like the buzz. They are cool, and their actions are also cool. I come to watch them repeatedly.
SIMKIN: Japans adult entertainment industry, the water trade as its known, is massive in scope and scale. It covers everything, from special clubs for men who like to grope schoolgirls on trains, to upmarket hostess bars. The industry is worth a hundred billion dollars a year.
For decades the host clubs were a small and sleazy part of the spectrum. Not any more. Reiji is taking them up market. In the last two years, one hundred new clubs have opened in Tokyo alone and Reiji is so busy, he needs a weekly vitamin cocktail to keep going. Reiji: I am revitalised. SIMKIN: Hes in huge demand as a corporate consultant, telling companies like this one how women think.
REIJI: This product is a lethal weapon for women. By using this, a woman can feel confident when they get up in the morning.
SIMKIN: The clubs clients are hardly lonely losers. Central to Reijis success is the realisation that many Japanese women are fed up with their traditional roles. Divorce rates, while still low by western standards, have doubled in a decade. The vast majority initiated by women. More and more young women are putting off marriage altogether, preferring to stay in the workforce.
REIJI: Women want something more than Disneyland.
At Disneyland the customers all have the same experience. Women are not satisfied with that anymore. Women who are tired and need a break want to go somewhere that is original and talk to people who understand them.
SIMKIN: Yuri Miyajima has a high paying job but still lives with her parents. What she saves on rent she spends at the club. Guy: Welcome! Are you alone?Yuri: Yes.Guy: Let me take your bag.Yuri: Yes please.Guy: Please come this way.
SIMKIN: Yuri-san is whats known as a parasite single and its estimated there are eleven million of them, living at home but financially independent.
YURI-SAN: Ours has been a male dominated society but there are big changes underway. Some of the distinctions between men and women are disappearing -- thats why I think its not just men that should be allowed to enjoy themselves at night -- women should also be allowed to be entertained.
SIMKIN: Its not that Yuri-san cant get a date, far from it she tells me, but because hosts are less hassle, less risk and less high maintenance than regular boyfriends. She likes nothing better than taking one shopping.
YURI-SAN: A host puts the emphasis on my enjoyment and listens to my worries. I can just be myself. A boyfriend will restrict me. I would always have to take his feelings into consideration.
SIMKIN: Japanese men seem to like the idea of being paid to drink and flirt with women. Fifty of them apply for a job at the club each month, quickly learning the company creed.
GROUP REPEATING AFTER TEACHER: Welcome! Excuse me... I am sorry... Thank you for the drinks... Thank you very much... I look forward to being with you.
SIMKIN: Special classes are held to teach newcomers the art of seduction. The rules are laid out. Never ask a client her age, job, religion or marital status. Smiles are carefully crafted. Bowing techniques practiced and perfected, the right angle is crucial.
TEACHER TO TRAINEE HOST: It is a bit shallow. Kotaro, your bow is too deep. Kotaro your back is curved -- please straighten it.
SIMKIN: It might seem like fun but the host business is big business. The competition fierce, the pressure to perform intense.
REIJI: I want hosts who wear dirty shoes to quit the club. I do not need that type of person. I do not like a person who is not cool and wears dirty clothes.
SIMKIN: Ninety per cent of the recruits drop out within a few weeks.
PANTHER: Everybody is a rival.
And as you can imagine, I can never say no to a woman. The customers who sit at my table are gods. No matter how much sake is poured, I cannot refuse, and must drink it all.
SIMKIN: Panther is one of the stayers. Hes been hosting for more than three years. Sometimes the 24 year old does say no to a woman. As far as hes concerned, a high-class host should sell the illusion of romance, not his body.
PANTHER: I work to sell dreams. I wear a different face at work and at home. I have to be whatever the customer wants. Fundamentally though, my character is the younger brother. I try to appear cute like the womans younger brother and appeal to her maternal instincts.
SIMKIN: The tactic works. He earns as much as twenty thousand dollars a month, but theres a catch. Panther is lionised by women in the club but not exactly fawned over out of it. This retail Romeo is so busy keeping customers happy he hasnt had a real girlfriend in four years. Evidence if you need it that in the world of hosts, a lot of money can buy you romance, but not love.
Reporter: Mark Simkin
Camera: Jun Matsuzono
Editor: Garth Thomas
Research: Yayoi Eguchi