enjo kosai

English

Etymology

From Japanese 援助交際 (enjo kōsai).

Noun

enjo kosai (uncountable)

1. The practice of "compensated dating", whereby girls and young women in Japan and Hong Kong provide companionship or sex to older men in exchange for money or luxuries. [from 20th c.]
   • 1999 July 8, Michael Fitzpatrick, The Guardian:

     The high price of these goods means that many young girls are tempted into lucrative enjo kosai in order to afford them.

   • 2008, William Sparrow, Red-Light Nights, Bangkok Daze:

     Many of the girls involved in enjo kosai think their fathers probably have their own kogals anyway, so why shouldn't they also reap the rewards of the practice?