In the palmy days before World War I, no red-light district in the world could boast the gilded wantonness of Tokyo’s Yoshiwara. There, along a garden lane redolent with flower blossoms, the powdered ...

With throbbing lights and giant photos of well-groomed men, Japan’s host clubs are hard to miss.These bars, where women pay to drink and flirt with men, are a cornerstone of the country’s red-light ...