This page is an English summary of an original survey on sugar dating (papakatsu) in Japan, conducted by the research team behind this site. A total of 971 people responded: 515 men and 456 women.
It is a data page, not an article. It carries no advertising and no affiliate links. You are free to cite the figures and charts as long as you credit the source and link back to this page.
The full results, including every question and every cross-tabulation, are published in Japanese at the full survey page (Japanese). Raw questionnaires are available as PDFs.
Method
Two parallel surveys were run, one for men and one for women, using matched questions. That design makes it possible to compare what men report paying against what women report receiving, which neither survey alone could show.
| Subject | Sugar dating (papakatsu) in Japan: usage, amounts exchanged, and safety |
|---|---|
| Conducted by | Research team of ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp |
| Fieldwork period | 6 January – 1 August 2026 |
| Method | Online survey via four Japanese crowdsourcing platforms (CrowdWorks, Lancers, Coconala, Mama Works) |
| Respondents (men) | 515 (250 experience survey + 165 app users + 100 interested non-users) |
| Respondents (women) | 456 (220 experience survey + 146 app users + 90 interested non-users) |
| Service ratings | 0-10 recommendation score; 415 ratings from men and 366 from women |
| Sampling | Non-probability sample. Not representative of the Japanese population. |
- Services with 20 or more ratings are shown in the main table.
- Services with 10-19 ratings are listed separately, always with the count.
- Services with fewer than 10 ratings are treated as indicative only and are not ranked.
Citation and reuse
You may reuse the figures and charts on this page free of charge, including for commercial publications. No prior permission is required. The only conditions are that you credit the source and link to this page.
- State the survey name, the number of respondents, the fieldwork period and the research team.
- Include a link to this page (https://ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp/survey/en/).
- When quoting figures for both sexes, make clear which survey each figure comes from.
- Do not alter the figures. If you excerpt, keep the base (number of valid responses).
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Source: Survey on sugar dating in Japan (515 men / 456 women), ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp research team, 6 January - 1 August 2026.
https://ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp/survey/en/Ready-to-use HTML
<p>Source: <a href="https://ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp/survey/en/">Survey on sugar dating in Japan (515 men / 456 women), ja-niigataiwafune.or.jp research team</a></p>Charts may be used as they are. Each chart has the survey name, sample size, fieldwork period and research team printed on it, so the source travels with the image.
Finding 1: men and women report different amounts
This is the result we consider most worth publishing. For a first meeting, 26.8% of men said they paid JPY 5,000-8,000, while 38.2% of women said they received JPY 3,000-5,000. The two sides do not share the same idea of the going rate.
The same gap appears for a dinner. 45.5% of women reported receiving JPY 5,000-10,000, against 23.6% of men reporting that they paid that amount; men are concentrated one band higher.
Note that the two surveys were answered by different people. These are not two sides of the same transaction, so the gap should be read as a difference between what men report and what women report, not as a discrepancy within specific arrangements.
Finding 2: trouble rates differ sharply by type of service
Grouping services by type rather than by brand shows a clear pattern. Arrangements started through social media received the lowest ratings from both sexes and the highest trouble rates, while services with identity verification scored higher.
| Type of service | Ratings (men) | Mean score (men) | Trouble rate, men (%) | Ratings (women) | Mean score (women) | Trouble rate, women (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar-dating-specific apps | 262 | 6.94 | 63.6 | 261 | 6.98 | 72.3 |
| General dating apps | 118 | 5.72 | 66.7 | 73 | 5.21 | 81.8 |
| Introduction / date clubs | 15 | 7.6 | 44.4 | 12 | 6.75 | 100 |
| Via social media (X, Instagram) | 20 | 3.65 | 90 | 20 | 3.45 | 88.9 |
Finding 3: stated terms matter more than photos
Women were asked which items they always check on a man’s profile. The stated allowance amount came first at 71.9% and the identity and age verification badge second at 69.2%. Whether a face photo is posted ranked below both, at 53.4%.
The same emphasis shows up in the reasons women give for deciding not to meet someone. Evading questions about terms or the allowance was the most common reason at 61.8%, ahead of hinting at more than a meal at 60.0%.
Finding 4: most women report at least one incident
Among women with experience, only 24.1% said they had encountered no trouble at all. The most frequently reported incident was persistent pressure for a sexual relationship, at 35.5%.
| Incident reported | Count | Share of women with experience (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Persistent pressure for a sexual relationship | 78 | 35.5 |
| No trouble at all | 53 | 24.1 |
| Repeatedly pressed for real name, workplace or school | 48 | 21.8 |
| Agreed allowance was not paid | 43 | 19.5 |
| The man did not show up | 42 | 19.1 |
| Contact continued after the arrangement ended | 37 | 16.8 |
| Amount was reduced on the day | 28 | 12.7 |
| Pressured to drink alcohol | 28 | 12.7 |
| Solicited for investment, side business or religion | 23 | 10.5 |
| Social media account was identified | 12 | 5.5 |
| Photographed or filmed without consent | 9 | 4.1 |
Self-protective behaviour is correspondingly common. 76.4% of women said they do not give their real name and the same share said they do not disclose their workplace or school; 66.4% always pick a public venue for a first meeting and 52.3% use a separate phone number or messaging account.
Limitations
Please take the following into account before citing these figures.
- Sampling. Respondents were recruited through four Japanese crowdsourcing platforms. This is a non-probability sample and is not representative of the Japanese population or of sugar dating participants as a whole.
- Self-report. Amounts, frequencies and incidents are self-reported and were not independently verified. Under-reporting and over-reporting are both possible.
- Unequal bases. The number of ratings differs by service. Services with few ratings are shown as indicative only and are not ranked.
- Separate samples. The men’s and women’s surveys were answered by different people. Comparisons between them are comparisons of reported distributions, not of matched pairs.
- Point in time. Fieldwork ran from 6 January to 1 August 2026. Later changes to services, pricing or regulation are not reflected.
Full data, questionnaires and contact
The complete tabulations and the full questionnaires are published as PDFs. The questionnaires include every question wording and every answer option, so the figures can be checked independently.
- Full results, men (n=515, PDF, Japanese)
- Full results, women (n=456, PDF, Japanese)
- Survey design and questionnaires (PDF, Japanese)
- Full survey page with all cross-tabulations (Japanese)
Journalists and researchers may request de-identified microdata, additional cross-tabulations, or high-resolution charts. Please write to us through the contact form, stating your outlet and intended use. Correspondence in English is welcome.
Our position
This survey was not conducted to promote sugar dating. It was conducted because the amounts and risks involved are not documented anywhere in public, which leaves both sides working from assumptions.
- Sugar dating apps in Japan are restricted to users aged 18 and over. High school students are excluded even at 18 on most services.
- If the other party is under 18, the man can be prosecuted under the Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, even if he was deceived about her age.
- Exchanging money for a sexual relationship may fall under the Anti-Prostitution Act. This site does not encourage it. The survey and our articles assume meals and conversation.
- Extortion (the badger game, known in Japanese as tsutsumotase) is a documented risk. Meeting in a public venue, avoiding private rooms, refusing to be photographed and withholding identifying details are the standard precautions. Our data shows women take the same precautions from their side.
- Exposure of identity to family, employers or on social media is a risk for both sexes. 5.5% of the women surveyed reported that their social media account had been identified.
- The figures are self-reported and do not constitute a guaranteed or recommended rate.
All figures on this page are as of August 2026.