Between Love and Consumption: The Current State of Young Women Who Are "Real Fans" of Underground Male Idols, Hosts, and Men's Contests

1. Let's Organize the Terms

• Ria-ko: An abbreviation for "really in love." It refers to a state where female fans continue to be fans while having genuine romantic feelings for male idols or hosts. In the case of male otaku, it is often called "gachi-koi."zexy.netdomani.shogakukan.co.jp
  
  

• Irokoe Eigyo: A method of inducing high spending by making customers think "maybe we can date." The legal risks were clarified in the 2025 amendment to the Adult Entertainment Business Law.note.comgladiator.jp
  
  

• Menchika Idol (Menchika): Male underground idols who work in the indie scene. Their selling point is their closeness, such as through handshakes and photo sessions.fam-security.com
  
  

• Host Club: A hospitality dining business where male hosts provide drinks and conversation. Issues have arisen with large bills due to "urikake" and "champagne calls."bloomberg.co.jp
  
  

• Men's Concept Cafe (Mencon): The male version of a concept cafe. More stores are disguising themselves as cafes while essentially becoming host clubs, with reports of assault and high billing.ktv.jp
  
  
  
  

2. The Structure Young Women Fall Into—A Numerical View of Japan's Current Situation

• According to the National Police Agency statistics,there were 2,776 complaints related to hosts in 2024, marking a record high. Many of these were related to high unpaid bills or being coerced into the sex industry.scmp.com
  
  

• In Kabukicho alone, there are over 100 groups of "Men-chika" operating, and there are cases where hundreds of "cheki" photos at 1,000 yen each are sold in a single night.fam-security.com
  
  

• In "Men-con," exorbitant menu items such as "1.65 million yen drinks" have been confirmed, and there have even been reports of violent collection incidents.ktv.jp
  
  
  
  

3. Key Points of the Revised Entertainment Business Law (Effective June 2025)

1. Prohibition of solicitation using romantic feelings = "Irokoe" sales tactics
   
   

2. Prohibition of false explanations of charges and unauthorized orders
   
   

3. In case of violation, the Public Safety Commission can issue a business suspension order, and in case of repeated violations, licenses can be revoked
   . It covers not only hosts but also girls/boys bars and concept cafes, aiming to put an end to the cat-and-mouse game of finding "loopholes."bloomberg.co.jpwindsgyosei.com
   
   
   
   

4. Comparison of the Actual Conditions of Three Business Types

(Created by the author. Organized based on various reports and industry insider interviews)

5. Why Do People Become "Ria-ko"?

1. "Pseudo One-on-One" via SNS and Live Streaming

2. Desire for Approval and Competition――Culture of Rejecting Same Fans, Ranking and Perk Competition

3. Time Efficiency-Oriented Romance Avoidance――The Value of Being "More Efficient than Real Romance"shuchi.php.co.jp

4. Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemicand Dependence on Online Contact
   
   
   
   

6. Overseas "Romantic Business" Situations

Consumption Fever of K-POP Fans

According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the K-POP related market rapidly expanded from $40 million in 2003 to $5 billion in 2018. The phenomenon of purchasing multiple copies of the same album to obtain photo cards has become established.medium.com

Chinese Host Bars

In Shanghai and Guangzhou's "companion bars," cases have been reported where women spend tens of thousands of yuan on male staff, with business practices that create a boyfriend-like atmosphere rampant on social media.hongkong.asiaxpat.com

Common Points: The closeness and the no-romance policy that maintain the "illusion" and encourage spending are very similar to Japan.
Differences: In Japan, the frequency of physical contact such as handshakes and signing personal items is higher in underground male idol and male companion scenes, making dependency more severe.

7. Voices of Victims and Expert Comments

"My favorite told me 'You're special,' and I ended up with a 2 million yen card loan in six months. To repay, I started working at night..." — A-san, 20-year-old university student
"With no regulations on male companions, it's a 'sexual harassment free-for-all.' More dangerous than hosts," — Associate Professor Nobu Takeoka, Urban Sociologyktv.jp

8. Support and Measures

• Free consultations are provided by credit and consumer loan consultation desks and young women's support NPOs (BOND Project/Colabo, etc.).x.com

• The operational status of the revised Entertainment Business Act will be announced by the public safety departments of each prefectural police as needed.

• Consumers themselves setting a "budget for supporting favorites" and choosing ways to support that do not ruin their lives is the most effective self-defense.
  
  
  
  

9. Conclusion

The line between "the happiness of being in love with a favorite" and "financial and physical harm" is thin. While legal arrangements are gradually suppressing "malicious romantic business practices," the business model itself will likely survive in a different form. It is crucial for fans to autonomously develop the literacy to recognize risks, and for government, education, and private support to collaborate in creating a safety net to protect a healthy "supporting favorites" culture.

Reference Article List

• "Host Club Industry Faces Ripples as 'Romantic Sales' Ban Spreads - Revised Entertainment Business Law to be Enforced" Bloomberg (2025-06-20)bloomberg.co.jp

• "2025 Entertainment Business Law Amendment and 'Romantic Sales' Regulation" note (2025-05-22)note.com

• South China Morning Post “Japan’s host clubs face reform as new law targeting predatory practices bites” (2025-06-16) scmp.com

• Family Security "The Dark Side of Men's Underground Idols" (2025-01-08)fam-security.com

• Kansai TV "Troubles Increase as 'Men's Concerts Become More Unsafe'" (2025-05-23)ktv.jp

• Popteen Editorial Department "What is 'Ria-ko'? Explanation of Meaning and Related Terms" (2024)popteen.co.jp

• Vellichor Literary “The Harmful Consumerism and Unhealthy Parasocial Relationships Within the K-pop Community” (2024-08-11)medium.com

• Korea Times “Capitalism of parasocial K-pop relationships” (2024)koreatimes.co.kr