, Columnist
Japan Flirts With Governance Reform
Japan may be on the verge of fixing poor corporate governance.
The old way of doing business.
Photograph: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Do you know what a “hostess” is in Japan? If you guessed that it’s a woman who greets you at the entrance of a restaurant, guess again. “Hostess” in Japan refers to a woman who works in a bar or a lounge and is paid to flirt with men. A French journalist once referred to them as “prostitutes who do not think they are prostitutes.”
Japanese corporate employees are the main customers at hostess bars. It’s a tradition in Japan to send (all-male) work teams to hostess clubs after hours, on the company dime. These sessions are often mandatory. Clients are also traditionally taken to hostess clubs by salesmen. Companies pay for these excursions , which go under the heading of “entertainment expenses.”