Walked JKs Busted in 100 Cop Akiba Raid

100 police have raided the streets of Akihabara in a crackdown on “JK walks,” for the first time resulting in actual JKs being taken into custody.

On the 16th, 100 police with no more pressing crimes to investigate fanned out across Akihabara in the largest raid of its kind to date, questioning any girl they found dressed in a school uniform and suspected of being a tout for “JK sampo” services.

The raid netted them 13 JKs, whose parents mostly claimed “not to have known” they were being walked by creepy otaku on the streets of Akihabara.

“JK strolls,” in which adult men pay to take female highschoolers on walks and to restaurants (taking faux dates with schoolgirls) became popular after recent crackdowns on “JK reflexology” (taking faux massages from schoolgirls) and “JK photo clubs” (taking pictures of schoolgirls).

The going rate is ¥8000 an hour for a walk or meal with a schoolgirl (or a woman dressed as one at any rate), and the authorities claim 100 establishments offering such services have sprung up in Akihabara and Ikebukuro after they cracked down on JK reflexology with such success.

Whether the practice is legal or not depends largely on the opinion of police, who have decided it is not, resulting in them making tenuous use of child labour laws and restrictions on touting (looking to be walked has been reclassified as “touting,” which is now restricted in Akihabara due to the profusion of maids there getting out of hand).

Police do say there have been complaints of patrons touching up the girls and generally attempting to get their money’s worth, and that the whole practice is a breeding ground for enjo kousai type prostitution.

They have also been arrested patrons for such egregious offences as buying the pantsu of the girl they were walking, and in one case busted the staff of a karaoke club for blackmailing customers in collaboration with a JK walker who falsely alleged she had been touched.

Hitherto police had reportedly never bothered taking any of the schoolgirl workers into “protective custody” and instead merely prosecuted their employers violating child labour laws (by making minors work in “unhealthy conditions”), meaning there was little downside for the girls.

From now on police say they will take action against minors involved in such activity, although if they adopt the same approach as with schoolgirl prostitutes this will only involve telling their parents and teachers what they have been up to rather than any actual criminal charges.

The crackdown seems to have plenty of supporters:

“Arrest them, forget protective custody!”

“At least they aren’t treating them just as victims now. If there is no seller there is no trade.”

“Arrest them!”

“There is no law against it, so how can they?”

“If there is no law against what are they doing taking them into protective custody?”

“Considering the popularity of enkou it is hard to imagine their customers can get their rocks off just going for a walk all of a sudden.”

“Keep that stuff in Shinjuku where it belongs.”

“Put a collar and leash on those girls and it suddenly becomes a much more interesting kind of walk.”

“That could be a lot more interesting…”

“Ye gods, paying just to go on a walk with someone? Really?”

“Akihabara is surrounded by a business district so it is no surprise there is no shortage of horny old guys willing to pay for this stuff.”

“Where’s the fun in taking a whore for a walk?”

“What is the difference between this a JK photography session and a junior idol photo shoot, again?”

“JK walks – they may as well call them prostitute recruitment walks.”

“JKs are already old hags. Where are the JC and JS walks?”