108 sex workers had been interviewed by 11 December 1999. The sex industry in Japan is generally divided into intercourse and non-intercourse categories. While there are no accurate data, it is estimated that the majority of Japanese sex workers are in the non-intercourse category, where Health is the most popular form. There are various forms of Health parlours. Some businesses rent a floor of a building to make into an open parlour, while others provide services secretly in a room of a condominium.
Most parlours are in entertainment areas.
Since this style involves direct contact of the sex organs, workers in the non-intercourse category who usually do not use condoms may be more likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases than workers in the intercourse category who generally use condoms. Many Health workers do not have other occupations, and ages are lower than in the intercourse category. Most are in their lower twenties. More than 60 percent of the workers feel proud of their job, describing it as a kind of welfare work or counselling. This is contrary to negative images of some parts of society, which considers sex work as a kind of trafficking.