"Taking Money from Middle-Aged Men to Spend at Host Bars"... The 'Kkotbaem Scandal' Shaking Japan's Kabukicho

Created Manual to Defraud Money
Man Who Received 400 Million Won in Tips and Hostess Arrested Together
Charged with Accepting Money Earned Through Crime Despite Knowing

Watanabe Makoto, a young con artist who extorted money from middle-aged men she met through online dating apps in Japan, was arrested on charges of embezzling 100 million yen (approximately 900 million KRW) in cash. At the same time, the famous male host Tanaka Hiroshi is also under investigation due to receiving tips amounting to 40 million yen (approximately 360 million KRW) from Watanabe.

It is known that over the past two years, Watanabe approached numerous middle-aged men, extorted a total of 100 million yen (about 900 million KRW) in cash, and used part of it for entertainment, including giving tips to Tanaka.

Watanabe Makoto is known to have approached numerous middle-aged men over the past two years, defrauding them of 100 million yen (approximately 900 million won) in cash, which he used for entertainment purposes, including giving tips to Tanaka.
[Photo by YouTube]

On the 30th, Japan's Asahi TV reported that the total amount Watanabe extorted by deceiving men exceeded 200 million yen (about 1.8 billion KRW), adding that most of the money was spent on entertainment and a significant portion flowed to Tanaka.

Watanabe was arrested on the 22nd on charges of extorting money from middle-aged men in their 50s and 60s whom she met through online dating apps over two years starting in 2021. She created and sold a so-called "flower viper manual" via social networking services (SNS), which detailed how to extort money from middle-aged men without engaging in physical relationships.

The "flower viper manual," sold as a two-volume set, was traded for 30,000 yen (about 270,000 KRW). It is estimated that around 2,000 people purchased the book.

Watanabe's manual stated, "Choose lethargic middle-aged men who seem to have no hope in life, feel no fulfillment in their work, come home late tired every day, and fall asleep immediately due to exhaustion, living a monotonous routine of home and work." It also instructed to make them feel romantic emotions and "make them voluntarily say, 'Oppa will help you.'"

Money Received from Middle-Aged Men Squandered at Host Bars

Host Tanaka is known as a figure who became popular as a host after graduating from a prestigious Japanese university. In Japan, where hosting is legal, Tanaka reportedly earned an annual sales revenue of 110 million yen (approximately 1 billion KRW) within three years. Additionally, in January, he introduced on his YouTube channel that "the cash at home is about 60 million yen (540 million KRW)," stating that "most of it is tips received while hosting."
[Photo by YouTube]

Watanabe frequented host bars with the money she received from men. She deceived a 54-year-old man from Yokohama by saying, "I was attending a junior college and started a clothing business, but it failed, leaving me in debt," and extorted 40 million yen (about 360 million KRW) from him. This money was squandered within two days at a large host bar in Kabukicho where Tanaka worked as a host.

Watanabe wrote in her manual, "I wanted to see the host's happy face, so I bought a kettle costing 3,000 yen for 12.73 million yen in cash at the establishment," and "I spent 27.63 million yen in one day on drinks and tips because I wanted to see happy faces."

Tanaka, the host favored by Watanabe, is known as a popular figure who became a host after graduating from a prestigious Japanese university. In Japan, where hosting is legal, Tanaka reportedly earned annual sales of 110 million yen (about 1 billion KRW) within three years. In January, he introduced on his YouTube channel that he had about 60 million yen (540 million KRW) in cash at home, most of which came from tips received as a host.

Tanaka called Watanabe "Mother Teresa" because she never made any demands and consistently supported him. However, Watanabe, who was a regular customer of Tanaka, paid host bars with money obtained through crimes, and Tanaka was aware of this. As a result, Tanaka and the host bar manager were arrested by the police on the 23rd on charges of receiving such money.

Meanwhile, the police are investigating additional crimes centered around Watanabe's manual.