Some Japanese teens in poverty have no choice but prostitution

[yuiyoshida]

An 18-year-old girl who is attending a night senior high school rides on a bicycle given to her by her homeroom teacher. (Shinnosuke Ito)

A 15-year-old girl was so desperate for indoor shoes to wear at school that she prostituted herself two years ago for the grand sum of 5,000 yen ($46).

Her mother was on social welfare at the time and lived for the most part with her boyfriend. The girl also slept there, but had to endure beatings and verbal abuse.

With no allowance to speak of, she had to rely on the 10,000 yen or so in New Year's gifts that she received from her grandmother to pay for school supplies. As a junior high school student, she could not easily find work. If she spent precious funds on training wear, she had little left over to pay for notebooks.

The first time she sold her body was in Tokyo's seedy Shinjuku district. The second time, she got 10,000 yen, which went to pay for a school bag and notebooks.

She later contacted a group helping girls in her situation that she learned about through the Internet. That was when she realized she was a victim of illegal child prostitution.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201605240001.html

[Glassunion]

1. That is so sad. n/t