From the late 1880s onwards, various groups, including the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and Purity Society lobbied for the end of legalised prostitution.
The Japanese government resisted these demands on the grounds that they provided effective control of STIs and that without them men's sexual desires would lead to increased cases of rape and sex crimes.
Under pressure from the abolitionists, in May 1934 the Home Ministry announced that licensed prostitution would be abolished in the near future, but no action was taken.
In January 1946 the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP), issued an order to abolish licensed prostitution.
Female Diet members attempted to introduce various anti-prostitution measures until in May 1956 they succeeded with the Prostitution Prevention Law.