The young ones
The practice of an older man taking a young, school-aged Japanese girl out on a "date" in exchange for money in Japan is referred to as enjo kosai, or "compensated dating". To say that enjo kosai is prostitution or - in a Western view - child prostitution, may not always be accurate. The date may not necessarily include sex, and the inherent cultural complexities can strain perceptions of the practice.
Japan has one of the lowest ages of sexual consent in the world; it's as low as 13 in metro Tokyo and the national age of consent ranges between 13 and 18 depending on the province. In fact, in Japan, the practice of having sex with teenage girls is not prosecutable if the young woman says "yes". This is where enjo kosai acts a loophole; any girl saying "yes, but for 50,000 yen" (US$495)immediately renders the situation illegal. The brunt of punishment, however, falls on the male customer, generally for solicitation and prostitution. Such cases can be aggravated by the fact the female is a minor, or under 18 in terms of recent legislation.
This is where the loophole becomes a pedophile's dream scenario. If he "dates" the underage woman, buys her gifts and occasionally provides her with cash ostensibly for shopping, buying books or spending time with friends, then the money or gifts were not technically provided on a sex-for-money transaction. Otherwise, this would equal prostitution and be punishable by law.
