Times may be tough everywhere, but the Susukino red-light district in Sapporo is doin' alright. The Bank of Japan noticed, and put out an order for a report on Susukino in an effort to determine the demand for this type of service. Way up north in Japan, in Hokkaido, the financial situation isn't as strong. Bank of Japan wanted to better understand where the money there is coming from, as well as help to look into situations to possibly make even more. Work what you got, right?

“Any study into services is most welcome,” said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo. “We’ve got hundreds of studies on exports and manufacturing. What’s needed is creative thinking on services and if that includes brothels, so be it.” 

The study showed that the number of sex parlors has tripled in the last 20 years. Nice! There's now 264 brothels in the Susukino area, says Bloomberg. 

An official of the Susukino Tourist Agency shrugged the growth off. “It must be because people want those services. Where there’s demand, you get supply," he said.