Japan has one of the world’s most recognizable adult entertainment cultures. From adult video and erotic manga to hostess clubs, love hotels, traditional entertainment districts and the enduring fascination with geisha, Japan has developed a particularly distinctive relationship with sexuality and eroticism.

For outsiders, this can sometimes appear contradictory. Japan is often perceived as socially reserved, highly disciplined and concerned with public propriety. At the same time, it has produced an enormous variety of adult-oriented media, elaborate forms of fantasy, specialized entertainment businesses and an influential visual culture surrounding…

Japan has a particularly unusual legal and cultural relationship with prostitution. Unlike countries where prostitution is openly legal and regulated as a profession, Japan formally prohibits prostitution under the Anti-Prostitution Act of 1956. Yet Japan also has a large and highly developed adult-entertainment industry, including businesses that provide various forms of commercial sexual services.

This apparent contradiction is one of the most interesting aspects of Japan’s approach to adult activities. Understanding it requires looking closely at what Japanese law actually defines as prostitution, what it prohibits…