Japan for the Uninvited

Japanese culture from a bemused foreign perspective

Jun 23, 2006

Deri-heru (Delivery health)

Delivery health, or “deri heru”, is one of the Japanese sex trade’s finest euphemisms, referring to the massive industry for callgirls. The nubile escort is driven to the customer’s house, or a love hotel, so “delivery” seems appropriate enough, but it’s not clear where “health” comes into it. Maybe it’s something to do with the exercise. Regardless, “health” is an English loanword commonly used in Japan’s mizu-shoubai (“water trade”) to refer to sexual pleasure.

The industry, which has been officially recognised since 1999, has estimated to take in almost 500 billion yen a year, nearly a third of the value of Japan’s whole sex industry. According to a police report in 2001, there are more deri heru businesses in Japan than branches of McDonalds (of which there almost 4,000 at the time).

Legal?

The law prevents these companies from offering “full sex”. However, the definition of this is very narrow, and businesses are still able to provide oral sex, masturbation, and even anal sex for money. Even though straight sex is formally barred, there seems to be nothing the police can do once the customer and his girl are behind closed doors.

Even when they are operating illegally, the remote nature of delivery health protects the businesses from prosecution. Japanese vice laws are full of grey areas, and focus on punishing the vendor, not the customer or the prostitute. Not being tied to a specific location allows deri heru companies to avoid police interruption. Unfortunately, this anonymity also companies to commit more sinister indiscretions – delivery health services are known to employ more underage girls than Japan’s other sex establishments.

Pinku chirashi

Masses of fliers for these companies (“pinku chirashi”) clog up phoneboxes and apartment letterboxes throughout urban Japan. The front of the leaflets feature salacious photography of varying pornographic strengths, details of how much a visit costs, and a list of cryptically-titled services offered. This list might include himitsu play (secret play), which is how pink chirashi refer to straight sex without attracting the attention of the police. There might also be a list of “types” of girls available, catering to every preference – from bored housewife to hard-up college student to attention-starved OL (office lady). The back of the fliers are for recruitment – with information for women who are considering selling their bodies.

Cheap and discreet

The boom in deri heru has come at the same time as a slump in the rest of the sex industry. These services are competitive because they are cheaper to provide, with lower startup costs and overheads. A deri heru session might cost as little as 10,000 yen, while an evening in a soapland typically costs five times as much. Many customers find deri heru offers more convenience and less embarrassment than having to cruise around the nearest red light district. The businesses have also benefited partly from Japan’s economic problems, with more women than ever finding themselves drawn into prostitution. More than 150,000 women are estimated to work as deri heru escorts.