Lonely Lawmen Hooked on Hookers

A Tokyo woman's recent tragic death at the hands of a police officer who stalked her then took his own life when his love was unrequited has moved the generally dismal love lives of lawmen back into the news, according to Weekly Playboy (9/17).

With irregular work hours, the possibility of danger and a general image of being overly straight-laced, many male police officers in Japan struggle to find themselves a girlfriend, let alone a wife.

Generally, there are few patterns that lead to police officers marrying, the most common being tying up with a policewoman. But women in Japanese police forces are vastly outnumbered by their male counterparts and those male cops who do snare a fellow crimefighter are almost always the cream of the crop, leaving vast numbers of lawmen lonely.

"We're not all chosen for just having pretty faces," a policewoman tells Weekly Playboy, explaining why female law enforcers aim for cops likely to move through the ranks when choosing a potential spouse. "I'd say of all the male members on the force, only about one third would be the type likely to get gals' juices flowing. And policewomen tend to focus their attention on those types of guys. You should see how hard the guys fight to get the attention of a policewoman who's even mildly pretty."

Cops who struggle to find a partner within the force have to turn their attentions toward ordinary women, many of who aren't particularly interested.

"Top officers often arrange for matchmaking parties with companies that employ lots of women, like banks or insurance companies. The problem is that most people think cops are a bit prudish. A lot of women have also had run-ins with the police with things like traffic tickets and stuff," a police officer says. "Even if there is a chance to meet women outside of the force, it rarely leads to love. Cops who are shy and have little prospect of going up the ranks tend to get looked down on at their stations."

Without a fellow police officer for love and regular women giving them the short shrift, many crimefighters look to Japan's bustling sex industry for female comfort.

"There are absolutely loads of police officers who are hooked on the sex business," a police officer tells Weekly Playboy. "They have to know about the business for their jobs, which means they often know the best places to go to for some fun."

But, as a former policewoman now working as a callgirl explains, a fondness for the sex business carries inherent dangers for policemen.

"Lots of cops get really carried away when a nightclub hostess or sex worker starts treating them kindly. The guys tend to take the women's attention for real instead of realizing that they're being looked after because they're customers. They aren't used to being fawned over by women, because they've been mostly ignored by the opposite sex in the past," the one-time Dickless Tracey says. "Police officers who've graduated from university tend to know better about handling women in the adult entertainment business, probably because they've had the chance to get around with the opposite sex when they were in college. But the guys who went straight into the police academy from high school have basically spent their lives sheltered from society, so there really are a lot of naive types there."

It's not like women in the adult entertainment industry welcome patronage from policemen, either. And it's little wonder considering the way some cops behave.

"We've had this police officer in his 30s come to drink at our club now and again. He had the build of a sportsman and really big eyes. At first glance, he was a real turn-on. But it turned out he was no different to all the other drunks," Rio, a hostess at a cabaret club in Tokyo's Roppongi district, tells Weekly Playboy. "He lorded it over everyone and looked down his nose at the hostesses. After he'd had a few, he started talking dirty and trying to feel up the girls. When he asked one of the hostesses for a kiss and she politely declined, he threatened to arrest her if she didn't go along. Once we heard that, he'd turned off everyone." (By Ryann Connell)

September 6, 2007