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"Clean" Naganos dark, dirty secret: AIDS The cause appears fairly clear: among known HIV-positive cases, 70 to 80 percent were Japanese males; a roughly similar percentage were non-Japanese females. While only 360 cases of HIV have been officially recorded by the prefectural government, in immunological terms, the number of latent cases may be considerably higher, anywhere from 100 to 1,000 times that figure. Ironically, Nagano, famous for its pristine mountain scenery and year-round recreation, is known for being Japan's education prefecture, where learning is deeply embedded in the culture and fostered from an early age. Unfortunately, boys will be boys, even in Nagano. In its cities and towns, hostesses from the Philippines, Thailand and other third-world countries can be found working in clubs where a dating system permits them to be taken out for sexual trysts. The ladies don't apply any hard and fast rules about condom use, the reporter continues. Since almost all of them are on the pill, they have no fear of pregnancy. There's also a rapid turnover of workers, so the girls often don't stick around long enough to undergo blood tests, and this also provides a ripe breeding ground for AIDS. A veteran newspaper reporter recalls his experience in Matsumoto, a picturesque castle town, about 20 years ago, when the first AIDS scare occurred in Nagano. About a 15-minute taxi ride from the center of town, there were several ramshackle Philippine 'snack' establishments in the middle of lettuce fields, he recalls. The girls would come over while you drank a beer and invite you, in broken Japanese, asking 'Asobanai?' (You want to do it?). A short-time session ran 25,000 yen and overnighter 35,000 yen. Since then the number of Filipinas has gone down, and instead there are more Thais and Koreans. Otherwise the situation, and prices, are pretty much the same as they were back then. Most of the customers are either locals or people who drive over from Karuizawa (a well known resort town), a Thai gal working in the eastern part of the prefecture, winks to Shukan Shincho's reporter. On weekends we're really busy. I've been in Japan for three months. Just working as a hostess I only get 20,000 a week, so it's hard to make ends meet on that. Lots of my friends who work at clubs sleep with the customers. They don't always insist on condoms. I think the AIDS data currently made public is just a fraction of the reality, says Takashi Yokota, an interpreter who has worked at medical clinics in the prefecture. According to the Japanese testing system, people who show a first-time positive are added to the statistics; but many are so scared when they're told they've tested positive they're afraid to undergo a second test. What's worse, Yokota adds, many HIV-positive people continue engaging in sexual activity. Yokota has encountered several people who contracted HIV through tertiary or quaternary transmissions. To his credit, governor Tanaka is taking his usual frank and open approach to the problem. Nagano people are known for their purity and righteousness, which is why our prefecture permits neither soaplands nor off-track betting, he tells Shukan Shincho. But sex is something anybody does. AIDS is a disease that may be latent for up to 10 years before showing symptoms, and is still incurable. I think we may have to organize a campaign to give tests to as many people as possible. Pending such action, Yoshiaki Yamada, professor emeritus at Shinshu University School of Medicine, offers this eminently sensible advice: Be careful where you play. And if you play, take precautions. Copyright 2006, Mainichi Daily. Used with permission. For reprint and syndication policies please contact Mainichi Daily News . Related
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