Real field reports and columns on Japan's adult-entertainment world
News
On the 18th, the Consumer Affairs Agency announced that, in the first criminal referral since the Law to Prevent and Remedy Harm From AV Appearances took effect, it had referred to police a production company that obstructed cooling-off. When a victim requested cancellation of her contract, she was charged a penalty fee and forcibly made to continue filming.
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The National Police Agency released statistics summarizing trends in sex-industry-related crime in 2022. Industry changes brought by the enforcement of the new AV law, an increase in crackdowns on illegal scouting, and a surge in procurement using digital platforms emerged as the main trends.
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Cases in which 'dark part-time jobs' (yami-baito)—which lure young people with promises of 'high-paying work' on social media—lead into sex crimes are surging. Teenage girls in particular are being targeted, with growing numbers forced to film sexual videos or provide sexual services. Police are stepping up enforcement, but their response cannot keep pace with increasingly sophisticated methods.
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On the 12th, police authorities arrested seven members of an organization that had been forcing Vietnamese women into the sex industry by abusing the technical intern training program. The victimized women are said to have had their passports confiscated and to have been threatened into working after entering Japan on 'technical intern' residency status.
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The Tokyo District Court handed down a guilty verdict to a defendant who operated a website procuring prostitution online. The presiding judge stated that 'even using digital technology, this remains an act of procuring prostitution,' delivering a stern judgment on the procurement of sexual services using online platforms.
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On the 18th, police authorities simultaneously searched an illegal scouting group in the three cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, arresting a total of 12 executives and others on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act. The group maintained a nationwide network, referring scouted women to sex-industry venues across the country.
News
The Law to Prevent and Remedy Harm From AV Appearances, which took effect on June 23, has begun to be applied, with administrative guidance issued to several operators within a month. Meanwhile, there is confusion within the industry, including complaints that 'deletion requests are being filed indiscriminately' and that 'the scope of application to past works is unclear.
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Crackdowns on prostitution conducted under the guise of 'papa-katsu'—paid companionship involving the exchange of money—are surging. Criminal responses have advanced in particular against cases in which procurers operate through social media, and guilty verdicts have been handed down to multiple operators.
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On May 27, 2022, the Law to Prevent and Remedy Harm From AV Appearances passed a plenary session of the House of Councillors and was enacted. Provisions such as a cooling-off period for appearance contracts (four months) and a right to demand deletion after release were codified, and performers' rights were set out in law for the first time. The law takes effect on June 23 of the same year.
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A cross-party parliamentary league of ruling and opposition lawmakers jointly submitted a bill to prevent and remedy harm from AV appearances to the Diet. Built around the introduction of a cooling-off system and the granting of a right to demand video deletion, the bill aims for enactment before the summer Upper House election. Industry organizations object to parts of the wording, but the legislative momentum appears unstoppable.