Paper short abstract:

Based on participant observation and interviews, this paper argues that hostess work at a nightclub in London is a precarious but temporary stepping-stone and an opportunity to cope with uncertain life in the UK for young, single Japanese women.

Paper long abstract:

This paper argues that hostess work at a nightclub in London is a precarious stepping stone and a tool to cope with uncertain life in the UK for young, single Japanese women. Some single Japanese women work as hostesses overseas in places such as London, Hawaii, New York, Australia and South Asian countries. They sell interaction, intimacy, and femininity to Japanese businessmen, creating a little piece of Japan abroad. Some are university educated and some are not, and they have either working holiday visas or student visas. I have conducted preliminary fieldwork in London, and found that although these women’s life stories show a variety of reasons and motivations to go abroad and work as a hostess, they seem to perceive a hostess job as a precarious but temporary stepping-stone to the next career, unlike some professional hostesses in Tokyo. Under the covid pandemic, this precarious hostess work has become more precarious because of having only a few customers. However, through working as a hostess and observing club systems, it is clear that the precarity of this work does not suddenly appear due to covid. This precarious status comes from a variety of reasons: their visa status, their educational background and language ability, the typical nature of hostess work such as negotiating with rude customers, ways of consuming alcohol, being replaceable and hence accepting lower wages, and being unable to say ‘it’s illegal’ to some parts of their jobs etc. However, fast money, easy work without using English and a feeling of ‘having a job’ seem to make them a little at ease. How, then, do they use hostess work as a stepping-stone for their career? How do they justify their feminine and intimate labour as hostesses for the Japanese men while simultaneously challenging themselves in new overseas environments and seeking better career opportunities for the future? How do they reconcile new experiences abroad with traditional, gendered labour? I will discuss these questions through my ethnographic and interview data collected in London.