The New Normal interview series: What’s next for Kabukicho?

‘I’m really worried about the current situation. I’ve never experienced a pandemic before and have no idea how to respond to it, neither personally nor as a businessman. I have a strong feeling that no one right answer exists, and have spent the past few months looking for possible solutions.

‘Most host clubs in Kabukicho came out with a joint statement in late March, before the Tokyo government declared a state of emergency, announcing that they would remain closed on weekends. It was a statement of intent, too; they wanted to make clear that Kabukicho host clubs are taking the situation seriously.

‘But I thought being open only four days a week instead of the usual six would increase crowding. To prevent mass infections, it would be better to increase opening days and disperse our customers. I also thought it would be better for our customers’ mental health if, instead of being stuck at home, they were able to spend a few hours every week drinking at our club. That considered, we decided on guidelines that would limit the number of customers to one or two groups per 160m2 club, with one host and one assistant serving each guest. If both guests and hosts kept checking their temperature over a week’s time and made sure they were healthy, there shouldn’t be much risk of infection.

‘I also decided to educate our employees, telling them to look beyond an all-or-nothing approach. It’s not either staying open whatever the circumstances or closing our doors right away; I wanted them to think about the process, about how to reach conclusions. We guaranteed all salaries for April, made an in-house video guide on how to deal with the coronavirus, and asked all employees to watch it and write a report on what they had learned.

‘I did something similar after the triple disasters of March 2011, talking with each of my employees one on one and asking them to think about why they were working in this business in the first place. We didn’t close, not even for a day. That was because I thought keeping the doors open for anyone who might come in is what people expect of clubs like ours, and of Kabukicho itself.

‘That considered, I hoped the current situation could have provided an opportunity for thinking of our clubs as places that people come to for encouragement, and for our people to think of themselves as sources of strength and reassurance in difficult times. Unfortunately the results weren’t quite what I had hoped for. Particularly our young, recently hired employees found it hard to stay home, didn’t watch the video we had made, and went to get check-ups at regular hospitals when they were just feeling a little under the weather.’

‘Talking about the differences between host clubs and hostess bars, I often use the terms “membership-based” and “job-based” employment. The membership-based model is the typically Japanese form of employment developed in the postwar period of rapid economic growth, under which employees are hired for life based on personality rather than skills or experience and trained by their company. In the job-based model, on the other hand, employees are evaluated on performance terms from day one, as is the case at hostess clubs.

‘Host clubs subscribe to the membership model – they hire inexperienced boys and go on to train them as hosts. Host clubs hardly ever have first-time customers come in and spend ¥100,000 in a single night. Most new guests get a first-time discount, paying about ¥3,000 to ¥5,000. The club doesn’t make money until these guests come back and start asking for a specific host they like.

‘With that business model you get a huge gap in earnings between the popular and unpopular hosts. The top 10 percent earn enough to make a living no matter what happens, plus their earnings keep the club in business and pay the other employees’ salaries. Doing something about that inequality would seem like sound business, but it’s difficult. The truth is that the host club industry is built on an all-or-nothing, get-rich-quick framework. What clubs need to work on is raising the bar across the board so that inequalities can start to be addressed.

‘That said, the coronavirus crisis has made me realise that more hosts than I expected are counting on making big money fast. They aren’t interested in aiming for a middle ground, one that would allow them to practice their profession in a stable manner. There’s a disconnect between older people like me, who prefer the membership model, and the young, job-focused guys who think you simply have to strive for popularity and just want to have fun, training and financial support from the club be damned. I guess I wasn’t dignified enough with them and came across as a meddling old geezer. We’ll continue our education programme regardless, but it does make you think...

‘The host profession will change. We’ll have to live with fear and uncertainty even after the coronavirus outbreak, and probably won’t be able to host the kind of big parties we did before. Moving from table to table while serving large numbers of guests will have to be shelved for a while. Clubs might have to limit their staff numbers and accept only guests with reservations – become “reservations-only” host clubs in order to survive.

‘Some of the business will also move into the online sphere. Many hosts already use services such as MixChannel (a video-sharing platform) and 17 Live (a livestreaming app) to communicate with their customers. Having the club manage such interactions, which are now done on a personal basis, could lead to new business. But it’s not that straightforward. Say a high-end sushi joint where dinner costs ¥30,000 started serving takeaway meals for ¥10,000; it still wouldn’t be able to compete with a chain like Pizza-La, which has been specialising in takeaway and delivery for decades. In the same way, simply trying to substitute online interactions for the real thing won’t work. To succeed, I think you have to approach the online sphere as a new market and be very detail-oriented.’

‘The situation is what it is, but I want to keep my host clubs going. That’s because I think interacting with people is an important part of life. And it’s because I think my clubs can help their employees gain the skills and know-how they’ll need later in life. In today’s world, rather than “should we buy something from A”, it’s “should we buy it from A or from B”. I want my employees to become the kind of people who can thrive under competitive circumstances.

‘I think it’ll become more and more important for host clubs, restaurants and bars alike to offer something special, something personal – something that makes you want to choose that place over another. The restaurant industry’s future workforce will be split in two: those who want to work at places like a Matsuya or McDonald’s, where all service is strictly standardised, and those who prefer a place with unique value, where customers come to be with specific employees. I think places that fall in between those two extremes will eventually disappear, having been abandoned by both customers and potential employees.

‘I’m trying to learn as much as I can about public health right now, because I think the ability to build a proper framework for managing health and hygiene will become more and more important in the restaurant industry going forward. That goes beyond managing employee behaviour and keeping our properties clean; I’d like to extend that to making sure my employees live healthy and hygienic lives. We have a company dorm, and I’m having my managers who run that building make sure that our employees have everything they need and that their daily lives are in order.

‘Back when there were cholera and plague pandemics, brothels and poor neighbourhoods were considered the worst sources of infections because people thought they were unhygienic environments. My goal going forward is to take action that will help change both the reality on the ground and people’s impressions, and get the entire industry to follow.

‘I don’t think things will go back to how they were before the coronavirus pandemic. Do they even have to? It’s not like society was that great before; wealth inequality is on the increase, and the poor and minorities face invisible forms of oppression. I feel like the real reason everyone is freaking out now is that the current crisis has exposed many contradictions of peace and capitalism that we had turned a blind eye to in the past.

‘Of course, I myself am heavily involved in the rat race in Kabukicho, a place that can well be described as capitalism incarnate, and love drinking and having fun there. Still, I do that simply because I enjoy it – it’s like playing football because you love it. It’s not all there is to my life. The current situation feels like I’ve injured my leg and might have to quit football for good. But just like footballers go on with their lives even after their careers are over, me and my
colleagues will find a way to live even if the situation changes for the worse.

‘While I know full well that we don’t have anything resembling a correct answer, I’m determined to keep looking for ways to survive together with my colleagues.’