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Paper short abstract

In Japan’s aging society, economic precarity and loneliness have contributed to the decline in traditional forms of intimacy. However, commercial intimacy serves its purpose in fulfilling one’s physical or emotional needs without the commitment of a full relationship.

Paper long abstract

In Japan’s aging society with declining birth rates, many people face economic precarity and social isolation, which affects how they form relationships. This paper investigates commercial intimacy, including sex work, host clubs, rental girlfriends, and concept cafés, as an important part of satisfying emotional or sexual needs. Based on ethnographic research in Tokyo and Osaka, it shows that motivations for these practices are gendered. Women often seek emotional intimacy, for example through host clubs or concept cafés where they can talk, be listened to, and enjoy fantasy-like settings. Men, on the other hand, more often pay for sexual or affective services, such as visits to girl bars, prostitution, or rental girlfriend services. While these practices are common, they are not equally normalised: in Japan’s patriarchal society, men’s use of sexual services is more socially accepted, while women who buy emotional intimacy face stigma. At the same time, traditional forms of intimacy, like marriage and long-term partnerships, are declining, often seen as economically risky or burdensome. This paper argues that commercial intimacy reorganises relationships around practical, time-limited, and emotionally safe interactions. In this way, it acts as a form of affective infrastructure, helping people manage loneliness while also reflecting existing gender inequalities.