Japanese Schoolgirl Pays Phone Bill by Prostituting

A 37-year old mother and 47-year old stepfather were sentenced to jail terms and fined substantially for forcing their daughter to prostitute herself to pay for her mobile phone bill. A court heard testimony as to how the girl was forced to perform "an indecent sex act" on a man in a hotel room after school in February for about $175.

Japan is the world's biggest cellular market and an estimated 96% of all highschool students have their own mobile phones. This has led to a multitude of social issues concerning the devices, most specifically "cellular-bullying." I find the concept intriguing and it's obviously akin to cyberbullying, but the article does not detail it, so I'm not sure what it entails, exactly. Many districts have since banned cellphones from school premises.

An underage prostitution ring was uncovered earlier this year, sending explicit pictures and messages over their phones and arranging encounters with customers.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009