Japan’s Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Businesses (“Fūeihō”) is a law designed to prevent nuisances and trouble that tend to arise in nighttime customer service and entertainmen

 Japan’s Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Businesses (“Fūeihō”) is a law designed to prevent nuisances and trouble that tend to arise in nighttime customer service and entertainment, and to balance community life with the night-time economy. The key concept is “settai” (personalized entertaining of customers): actions such as staying close to a particular patron to liven things up, singing or playing together are deemed settai and are considered likely to cause negative effects—encouraging intoxication, persistent solicitation, and billing disputes. Businesses that involve settai require a license and, in principle, may not operate late at night. Formats without settai can operate late at night with a notification filing, but staff must observe clear boundaries in proximity and engagement. Typical business types include cabarets and host clubs, which are settai-based; challenges include transparent pricing, curbing excessive solicitation and spending, and preventing harassment. Lounges are handled differently depending on whether settai is present, and attention to low lighting and small private rooms is also required. Concept cafés and maid cafés center on “interaction,” but group singing or staff participation in games can drift toward settai, so scripts and posted rules are essential. Girls’ bars are premised on non-settai service across the counter; key points are not sitting beside patrons, not introducing betting, and operating late at night only within the notified scope. These detailed rules are not for mere restriction but a framework that permits operation when conditions are met; understood this way, on-site practices and coexistence with the local community become easier to envision.