In May 2000 Lucie Blackman went to work in Tokyo as a nightclub hostess. She was a pretty, blonde 21-year-old, a prized 'gaijin', or western girl, whose job it was to serve drinks to Japanese businessmen, light their cigarettes and flirt. Eight weeks later she was dead. Jenni is joined by Clare Campbell who has written an account of Lucie’s life and death, and the hostess clubs that form a part of Japanese life. She also talks to Dr Brigitte Steger, Lecturer in Modern Japanese Studies at Cambridge University, about hostessing in Japan. What attracts British girls like Lucie to this line of work? What do they actually do? And how do hostess clubs sit within traditional Japanese culture?
'Tokyo Hostess' by Clare Campbell is published by Sphere, ISBN: 978 1 84744 206 2
The Lucie Blackman Trust Disclaimer The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.
