Chinese hostesses catch Japanese hi-tech executives in honey trap

Executives and engineers at some of Japan's largest hi-tech companies have been ensnared in a "honey trap" set by Chinese women working at a Kyoto hostess bar, according to a report in a Japanese news magazine.

Officials and employees of at least five leading companies were patrons of the club, in the city's Higashiyama ward, before the club shut down in June and the Chinese manager disappeared, according to Shukan Jitsuwa.

The bar, which was not named, charged an entry fee of 20,000 yen (HK$1,600) and employed eight hostesses who were reportedly skilled in pouring drinks and flattering egos.

The manager denied to authorities that customers spoke about their work at the club, but admitted that the women were available to meet the men at later dates.

It was reported that the women would then encourage the men to discuss the new technologies that were being developed at their companies and corporate strategies for operating in the Chinese market. Even if that did not work, the magazine suggested, the men would have been highly susceptible to blackmail.

Before she disappeared, the Chinese manager was initially questioned by police looking into fake marriages, including one in which a 32-year-old Chinese hostess married a 52-year-old member of Japan's Self-Defence Forces.

The officer was a regular at the club, but was dismissed from the service when the case came to light. He has been charged in connection with the marriage. The magazine said the marriage was part of a Chinese effort to obtain information on Japan's submarine fleet.