Someone approached me on the street before—I’m not sure if they were a scout—and asked, “How about Universe, a dating club?” I’ve been interested in dating clubs for a while, so I’m curious, but I’m worried about whether they’re really affiliated with the club.

I’m Maezawa from the President’s Office, and I’ll answer this as well. Universe Club does not accept referrals from street scouts. So anyone approaching people while using the Universe name is not affiliated with Universe, and we have no business dealings with them. These days, street scouting itself is often illegal, and there have been a large number of arrests. If you search for “scout arrested,” you’ll probably find various examples. In most cases, the arrests are for violating the Employment Security Act. This law prohibits introducing people to “harmful occupations” that are considered detrimental to public health or public morals. Court precedents have determined that prostitution, the sex industry, and adult video shoots fall under “occupations harmful to public morals.” Conducting a job-placement business and receiving referral fees without the proper authorization may also violate the law. In addition, each prefecture has regulations against nuisance activities. Tokyo’s regulations cover not only scouting for prostitution, the sex industry, and adult video shoots, but also scouting employees for hostess clubs. Since Universe is not an occupation, introducing someone to Universe should not technically violate the law. However, as the leading dating-club company, Universe never knows where it might be targeted with a high-profile arrest. If an arrested scout claimed they had been approaching women at Universe’s request, Universe could potentially be affected as well. For that reason, a few years ago we stopped doing business with street scouts altogether. That said, if those scouts find women online and refer them to Universe, we have no way of knowing the difference between that and an affiliate referral. We do not check whether our affiliates are also involved in street scouting, so it is possible that some people may be referring women they found online while claiming that was how they found them. However, our terms prohibit street scouting, and if it is discovered, the affiliate agreement itself will be terminated. I don’t think anyone would take that much of a risk just to approach people on the street, so I doubt they are affiliated with us. In that case, my guess is that they use the Universe name to get someone to listen, then intend to steer them toward a hostess club or the sex industry.

I’m Kazu, a male member. You could call them affiliated with the club, but I believe they’re an affiliate marketer rather than an employee. https://universe-club.jp/women/ If you apply through this page, you can be sure that you’re applying to join Universe Club. That way, you won’t have to worry about whether they’re really affiliated with the club.

I’m Dai, a male member. I don’t think they’re affiliated with the club. That said, Universe Club does have a referral program called “Friend,” so it seems some people do promote it. I’ve heard from women that they’ve been approached through papa-katsu apps and the like.