Sat, Jun 29, 2002 page19

• The pretty boys of Osaka do it out in the open

  DRESSED TO KILL They're overly smooth and dress over the top, but heck, it works -- attracting many lonely girls who provide them with a constant stream of income

  • By Jules Quartly / STAFF REPORTER IN YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
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  Dressed like the "men in black," they pose and play with their phones, twirl their transparent umbrellas and when girls walk by they pounce.

  "Hi," they say and walk alongside the girls, striking up a conversation, touching them lightly on the arms, offering the familiar lines of formulaic seduction. "Nice to meet you. What are you doing? Are you free? Why don't you come to the club?"

  Often enough the girls do go with them. Welcome to the world of "catch men," who ply their trade along the kilometer-long Namba Arcade near Dotomburi Bridge, in Osaka.

  

  "Catch" men strut their stuff in Osaka's Namba Arcade last week.

  PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

  The Taipei Times approached a man loitering on the bridge and asked him about what was going on. It turned out that he was a private investigator and seemed to know all about the scene.

  "They pick up girls and yes, they have sex with them. But they also try to involve them in the making of adult videos -- or to become showgirls," he said.

  The investigator, who asked not to be identified, called them "scout men" because they scout for girls. He wrinkled his nose and said: "They impress young girls, but often involve them in the world of gangsters and prostitution."

  "For some girls, it is just fun, they want a good time, but others, they are vulnerable and end up following bad ways."

  Like his friends, Misaki, whose real name is Yasuhiko, dresses from head to toe in a late 1980s Armani-style suit, with black loafers, dark tie, white shirt and peroxided hair. He uses his umbrella as a prop when he assumes a batter's pose in the middle of the alleyway, presumably to attract girls.

  He is 20 years old and originally came from Nagasaki. He studies commerce at the prestigious Kyoto University and travels one-and-a-half hours on the train, three to four days a week, to walk the streets of Osaka after 9pm.

  He said he found the job in the classified section of a magazine, which was advertising for "cool guys" who are good-looking and like talking. "I like this job because I can communicate with many people. This is a good way to meet new friends."

  He said he had a lot of free time at college and had been doing the job for five months. He said his close friends knew about it, but not his parents.

  "Of course, my father and mother don't know about this, they would not like it. People think that this is not good. If your daughter was a showgirl, would you like it?"

  So, you're a kind of showgirl?

  "Yes, I guess so, a showman."

  He also calls himself a host. "We treat the girls like special guests, we look after them and make them feel good -- this is our job."

  "It's called catch because we do the catch. These girls know what we are offering and some of them just want sex, it happens. We are cool guys and that is why they want to talk to us," he said and laughed.

  If a girl is tempted to string along with Misaki, he will take her to his bar, where they will drink Jinro, which is like Korean Soju, strong and cheap. He calls it brandy.

  He tells the girl the drinks are free, but they must pay "free time." This is ?3,000 (US$25) an hour, plus 20 percent tax, a total of ?3,600 per hour. Extra drinks must be paid for, at around ?1,000 each.

  He said that he makes an average of ?12,000 per day, but it can be much more. "Occasionally a girl will want champagne and other things and she will spend ?130,000. This has happened sometimes."

  All the money goes through the bar and Misaki's take is 40 percent. "But sometimes it can be zero. It is a very, very difficult job."

  He said most of his clientele are showgirls and some are prostitutes, "because showgirls and whores make a lot of money, they spend a lot. I think this job is unique to Japanese culture. I don't think it happens in other countries."

  Some of the girls he snares are "just lonely," Misaki said. "Maybe they don't have a boyfriend, sometimes they do."

  He also brings men to the bar, which is up an alleyway off the main drag and is called Nobushu, which is a type of Samurai warrior. It's in a basement and is really no more than a glorified sitting room. It is slightly dingy, with orange lamps and faded sofas, but could pass for smart in the dim light. The music is bad, karaoke-style.

  The boss of the joint is a member of the yakuza, or Japanese Mafia. He too is dressed in the monochrome uniform of the young men who work for him. He has a few missing teeth, but all of his fingers are still intact.

  Misaki takes a table and pours a small shot of "brandy" into a glass with ice. He mixes it with a lot of water and sets it down. He asks if he can smoke.

  He said the business of "catch" started in the late 1980s and that Osaka's "catch men" are the best-known, but they exist in all the main metropolitan areas. "This is a famous job. It is quite glamorous."

  I asked him whether some of the girls he brought in ended up being showgirls or prostitutes. "Yes, this happens."

  Did he know any interesting stories about the girls he brought to the bar?

  "I met a girl who was 16 years old. She was a whore, this was very strange, quite unusual. I don't think she was happy. Sixteen years old and sells her body? She can't be happy. This is very sad, but she makes a lot of money."

  He said older women also came to the bar but most of them were between 18 and 25. How many "girlfriends" did he have?

  Misaki flipped his phone and went through more than 100 names. "Probably around 60. I have to remember all their names, but this is quite easy because we [short] message each other."

  Do they know he has so many other girlfriends? "No, yes, some do, some get a little jealous."

  Does he have sex with them?

  "Yes, but not so often and they must pay `free time.'"

  This costs ?10,000 to ?20,000, which, he said, was the same for having sex with a woman.

  So, it could be said there is equality between the sexes in Japan.
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