Japanese massage parlour operator denies forcing Thai girl, 12, into sex work

2026-03-03 - 02:45

A Japanese man accused of conspiring with a woman to force a then 12-year-old Thai girl into sex work at a Tokyo massage parlour he operated has denied the charges. “I did not know she was underage,” Masayuki Hosono, 52, told the Tokyo District Court during the first hearing of his criminal trial on Monday. His defence counsel also argued that he had been deceived about the girl’s age by the woman, Punsiripanya Phakhaphon, 38, a Thai national who managed the private-room massage parlour in...