Up until two months ago, Misako Saito was a typical Japanese OL, the name given to the country's female white-collar workers. Now, however, Saito heads one of the country's only sex guidance schools.
"I had been wondering to myself about whether to change jobs when the owner of a dance hall I was going to in my spare time suddenly scouted me for this post," the head of Adam, the sex school, told Spa! "I agreed with the concept of the sex school's existence, which was to rid sex of the notion of being something dirty, and made up my mind to get into this business."
Saito's main jobs at the moment are looking after the women's sex therapists and models who work for the school and dealing with customers. In the short time she's been on the job, Saito has already infused the school with a greater awareness of crisis management, implementing a security system and encouraging greater use of antiseptics during classes.
"I've only just taken over as the boss, so there is still a mountain of things I have to learn and a mountain of improvements that need to be made. I've been working from 8 in the morning until 3 a.m.," she said.
Saito has had few troubles working with the other women employed by her school.
"We refuse to accept women who don't take this seriously, as some of the girls who work in the sex business have a tendency to do. The women we have at the school are all types who want to take a serious look at sexuality. That's why we don't have a single problem regarding emotions or attitudes toward work," Saito told Spa! "From now on, whenever we take on a new woman to work here, I will have every employee of the school take part in the job interview process and we will all decide together whether to take her on."
Saito has little trouble explaining her profession to those around her.
"Sometimes, people may titter if I tell them that I'm the principal of a sex school. But that doesn't mean I laugh along with them," she said. "In fact, I get a bit feisty and tell them that sex is the most basic part of humanity and that they shouldn't be laughing about something that is essential for our entire existence."
Saito aims to make her sex schools a nationwide franchise, with plans for the second outlet already well underway.
"Our owner's belief in the importance of raising awareness about 'correct sex' can make an important social contribution in terms of combating the low birthrate and possible abuse of the sex industry," Saito told Spa! "Unlike jobs I've had in the past, I can really feel that this job is worthwhile and I'm responsible enough to tackle it properly."
