Cops crack down on deaikei sites

Back in November 2009, we posted an interview with a sakura -- a male who poses as a single female on Internet matchmaking sites. While sometimes the role is played by a real woman, often the 'singles' men are paying to chat with do not exist in real life.

Despite this giant deception at the heart of many of these deaikei sites, the practice had generally been tolerated over the last decade.

In 2010, however, police are finally taking a hard line against fraudulent deaikei sites. On January 15, Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department made their first raid against a deaikei site, arresting the site operator and ten other men for allegedly defrauding three male customers. The action stemmed from customer complaints that, while they paid a lot to court their online sweethearts, they never got to actually meet them.

It's unclear whether there will be more arrests of this nature or if deaikei sites will take it upon themselves to clean up their act. As for the sakura, it's uncertain that posing as a potential girlfriend for a lonely guy will remain the well-paid part-time job for college kids it was in the past. Or maybe with the legal danger, the salaries will go even higher.