Japan’s obsession with cutesy culture has taken a dark turn, with schoolgirls now offering themselves for “walking dates” with adult men. Last year the US State Department, in its annual report on human trafficking, flagged so-called joshi-kosei osanpo dates (Japanese for “high school walking”) as fronts for commercial sex run by sophisticated criminal networks.

Schoolgirls for Sale

After her parents divorced, Shima Sumitomo lived with her mother. She felt uncomfortable living with her stepfather and she was unable to hang out with people at her high school. Shima Sumitomo decides to move to Hokkaido where her father lives. At her new high school in Hokkaido, she meets classmate Gen Tatebayashi and Wao Sakurai. They are the two most popular boys at her school. A principle of her school is that "Gen and Wao are for everyone." If anyone breaks the rule, that person will be ostracized. Even so, Shima Sumitomo gets closer to Gen and Wao.