A rare, direct warning from Japan signals a shift in the fight against child sex tourism in Asia
- Written by Ming Gao, Research Fellow of East Asia Studies, Lund University

Japan’s embassy in Laos and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a rare and unusually direct advisory, warning Japanese men against “buying sex from children” in Laos.
The move was sparked by Ayako Iwatake, a restaurant owner in Vientiane, who allegedly saw social media posts of...