The sex industry in Tokyo will be legally obligated to display the prices of all services rendered if a draft ordinance announced Thursday passes the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in the fall.
The draft ordinance, the first of its kind in Japan, will impose maximum fines of 500,000 yen or a six-month prison term on offenders who use false advertisements or information to attract customers.
The draft ordinance will also prohibit intimidating customers into paying money.
In the past, unwary customers have been lured into stores with promises of low prices and then threatened, beaten, or stripped of their clothes until they pay fees far in excess of the advertised prices, Metropolitan Police Department officials said.
Most cases go unreported, officials said. They declined to reveal the number of reported cases.
Violators who ignore the new regulations will be shut down for a maximum of eight months, while managers who refuse to comply will face up to a year in prison, according to the draft.
The draft ordinance is scheduled to be submitted to the regular metropolitan assembly session in September.
If passed, the ordinance will apply to the sex industry and to hostess bars that operate within areas to be designated by Tokyo's Public Security Commission.
Entertainment districts in the Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro and Ueno districts will be the likely targets, officials said.
The Entertainment and Amusement Trades Control Act obligates businesses to display accurate prices but does not stipulate penalties for violators.
Currently, victims can seek criminal charges of blackmail but have no recourse in civil disputes, police said.