Victims speak up as Japan moves to protect young people in porn
japantoday.com
Today 06:23 am JST
By Yuki Kawaminami
As Japan's parliament debates a new law drafted to protect young people who signed contracts to perform in pornographic productions, two women have spoken out about the abuses they suffered in the shady industry, hoping the legislation will be a "first step" toward ending exploitation.
For a woman who wishes only to be known as Maiko, economic hardship propelled her into the porn industry 10 years ago when times became hard at the education company she was running. After much agonizing, she typed "porn" into an internet search, looking for a high-paying job as she struggled to pay her rent.
What she saw next were images of beautifully curated and presented celebrity porn actresses. Maiko saw it as "a glittering world" and she decided to have an interview at a company that recruits actresses for adult videos.
Maiko was hired the same day she went for the interview. She agreed to be in a nude photo shoot for use in advertising and was promised payment of 1 million yen. She recalls feeling relieved that she would be able to pay her rent.
Maiko was immediately taken to an interview with a porn director, who asked her about her past sexual experiences. It conjured up memories of sexual violence she had been subjected to early in her pre-porn career.
At a work party, Maiko drank a beverage she believes was spiked by a business associate and when she came around found herself alone in a hotel room with the man. From that incident, she was blackmailed into having a yearlong sexual relationship after the man threatened to share compromising photos he took without her consent.
When she relayed this experience to the director, he callously cast her in the role of a woman who was "drugged and raped in a hotel room."
Although she was emotionally scarred by past sexual violence, she thought, "If I get into porn, maybe I can make what happened to me seem like no big deal. This would help me get over the damage." So, she went into the shoot thinking that by re-enacting her past, she might be able to overcome it.
Over the following year, Maiko appeared in more than a dozen films. However, the acts she was required to perform gradually became more and more extreme. On one occasion, she was told she would take part in a simulated rape scene involving 50 men.
Maiko says she used alcohol to distract herself from the distress she was feeling at her shoots. Without it, she could not even stand in front of the camera.
Eventually, she began to lose her memory. A hospital examination revealed that she was suffering brain atrophy. Her doctor told her, "You are under considerable stress."
Meanwhile, the agency that had signed her up began encouraging her to get plastic surgery and work in prostitution. "If I don't stop now, I'll be in big trouble," Maiko thought, feeling that she had reached her limit both physically and mentally.
She was also beset by "a fear of being consumed." Maiko eventually left the industry and filed for bankruptcy. But she says she still suffers from hearing loss, presumably the aftereffects of stress.
To this day, Maiko has not told anyone, including her family, about her life in the world of porn. But the fear that the explicit footage of her can resurface at any time on the internet still haunts her.
She tried several times to find videos she appeared in to ask for them to be taken offline. However, just looking at the titles made her sick to her stomach and she would give up the search.
Maiko has learned that some of the people who appear in porn videos have suffered sexual violence like she did, or physical and mental abuse at home in the past. Thus, it is painful for her to hear people arguing in favor of porn by saying women choose to appear or that they are "responsible for their own actions."
"They are the ones who need society's support the most, yet they are being abandoned," she said.
Natsu, also a pseudonym, was 18 when she was approached by a middle-aged man in front of a convenience store in an entertainment district. "If you do the real thing (sexual intercourse) and let me film you, I will give you 20,000 yen," the man said.
Natsu was regularly sexually abused by her father from the time she was a teenager. Her mother was also verbally abusive. She sought help from teachers at school and at the child welfare office, but no one lent her a hand.
As she was continually betrayed by adults, Natsu could no longer ask for "help" when she needed it. When she turned 18, she was no longer eligible for support under the child welfare law. "Neither the laws nor the systems created by adults would help me," she believed.
To her, the entertainment district is where young girls like herself could get money and a cell phone without ID or parental approval. The man approached Natsu at a time when she had decided to "live" in the area.
The man showed her images of naked girls on his phone. He promised to pay her 5,000 yen if she agreed to be photographed, 15,000 yen more if she was videoed engaging in sexual intercourse and an additional 5,000 yen if she agreed not to use a condom.
Natsu thought if she had 20,000 yen, she would be able to stay almost 10 nights in a 24-hour internet cafe. She agreed to be filmed, and the man took her to a hotel.
After filming her, the man said he would upload her video to an internet site for sale. He presented a document for her to sign, it stated she could not ask for any proceeds from the video sales.
About two years later, Natsu was asked to participate in a "Flower Demo" protest against sexual violence. At the rally, the people who spoke on the microphone had similar experiences in porn and also suffered sexual violence.
"I was a victim, too," Natsu thought, realizing that what she had taken for granted was actually sexual exploitation. This came after her best friend, who had also worked as a porn actor, committed suicide.
When she learned that the bill to protect people caught up in the porn industry was being debated in the Diet, she was happy that politicians finally had begun facing the issue of sexual exploitation of 18- and 19-year-olds.
The bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, allows people who agree to appear in pornographic content to terminate their contracts, and if so, the video vendors are obliged to recover the products and delete the footage.
It also mandates that a month must pass between the signing of the contract and the filming of the video, and four months between the filming of the video and its public release.
Although it targets people who appear in porn regardless of age or gender, the lawmakers came up with the bill after Japan lowered the age of adulthood in April, making it no longer possible for 18- and 19-year-olds to cancel contracts to which they have agreed.
The bill was passed unanimously in a plenary session of the House of Representatives in late May. The House of Councillors will deliberate on it for a possible enactment in June.
When the adulthood age was 20, it was possible for 18- to 19-year-olds, including those who were coerced to appear in porn, to stop the sale or distribution of videos as they could use the "minor's right to rescind," which allowed them to void contracts concluded without parental consent.
While welcoming the move in parliament, Natsu said it is "only the first step" and future focus must be on how the planned law will be enforced for the benefit of the victims.
Maiko believes there are many who are forced to pursue porn for their "survival" and that there should be a more reliable way for them to access medical care and welfare before it comes to that.
© KYODO
japantoday.com
Today 06:23 am JST
By Yuki Kawaminami
As Japan's parliament debates a new law drafted to protect young people who signed contracts to perform in pornographic productions, two women have spoken out about the abuses they suffered in the shady industry, hoping the legislation will be a "first step" toward ending exploitation.
For a woman who wishes only to be known as Maiko, economic hardship propelled her into the porn industry 10 years ago when times became hard at the education company she was running. After much agonizing, she typed "porn" into an internet search, looking for a high-paying job as she struggled to pay her rent.
What she saw next were images of beautifully curated and presented celebrity porn actresses. Maiko saw it as "a glittering world" and she decided to have an interview at a company that recruits actresses for adult videos.
Maiko was hired the same day she went for the interview. She agreed to be in a nude photo shoot for use in advertising and was promised payment of 1 million yen. She recalls feeling relieved that she would be able to pay her rent.
Maiko was immediately taken to an interview with a porn director, who asked her about her past sexual experiences. It conjured up memories of sexual violence she had been subjected to early in her pre-porn career.
At a work party, Maiko drank a beverage she believes was spiked by a business associate and when she came around found herself alone in a hotel room with the man. From that incident, she was blackmailed into having a yearlong sexual relationship after the man threatened to share compromising photos he took without her consent.
When she relayed this experience to the director, he callously cast her in the role of a woman who was "drugged and raped in a hotel room."
Although she was emotionally scarred by past sexual violence, she thought, "If I get into porn, maybe I can make what happened to me seem like no big deal. This would help me get over the damage." So, she went into the shoot thinking that by re-enacting her past, she might be able to overcome it.
Over the following year, Maiko appeared in more than a dozen films. However, the acts she was required to perform gradually became more and more extreme. On one occasion, she was told she would take part in a simulated rape scene involving 50 men.
Maiko says she used alcohol to distract herself from the distress she was feeling at her shoots. Without it, she could not even stand in front of the camera.
Eventually, she began to lose her memory. A hospital examination revealed that she was suffering brain atrophy. Her doctor told her, "You are under considerable stress."
Meanwhile, the agency that had signed her up began encouraging her to get plastic surgery and work in prostitution. "If I don't stop now, I'll be in big trouble," Maiko thought, feeling that she had reached her limit both physically and mentally.
She was also beset by "a fear of being consumed." Maiko eventually left the industry and filed for bankruptcy. But she says she still suffers from hearing loss, presumably the aftereffects of stress.
To this day, Maiko has not told anyone, including her family, about her life in the world of porn. But the fear that the explicit footage of her can resurface at any time on the internet still haunts her.
She tried several times to find videos she appeared in to ask for them to be taken offline. However, just looking at the titles made her sick to her stomach and she would give up the search.
Maiko has learned that some of the people who appear in porn videos have suffered sexual violence like she did, or physical and mental abuse at home in the past. Thus, it is painful for her to hear people arguing in favor of porn by saying women choose to appear or that they are "responsible for their own actions."
"They are the ones who need society's support the most, yet they are being abandoned," she said.
Natsu, also a pseudonym, was 18 when she was approached by a middle-aged man in front of a convenience store in an entertainment district. "If you do the real thing (sexual intercourse) and let me film you, I will give you 20,000 yen," the man said.
Natsu was regularly sexually abused by her father from the time she was a teenager. Her mother was also verbally abusive. She sought help from teachers at school and at the child welfare office, but no one lent her a hand.
As she was continually betrayed by adults, Natsu could no longer ask for "help" when she needed it. When she turned 18, she was no longer eligible for support under the child welfare law. "Neither the laws nor the systems created by adults would help me," she believed.
To her, the entertainment district is where young girls like herself could get money and a cell phone without ID or parental approval. The man approached Natsu at a time when she had decided to "live" in the area.
The man showed her images of naked girls on his phone. He promised to pay her 5,000 yen if she agreed to be photographed, 15,000 yen more if she was videoed engaging in sexual intercourse and an additional 5,000 yen if she agreed not to use a condom.
Natsu thought if she had 20,000 yen, she would be able to stay almost 10 nights in a 24-hour internet cafe. She agreed to be filmed, and the man took her to a hotel.
After filming her, the man said he would upload her video to an internet site for sale. He presented a document for her to sign, it stated she could not ask for any proceeds from the video sales.
About two years later, Natsu was asked to participate in a "Flower Demo" protest against sexual violence. At the rally, the people who spoke on the microphone had similar experiences in porn and also suffered sexual violence.
"I was a victim, too," Natsu thought, realizing that what she had taken for granted was actually sexual exploitation. This came after her best friend, who had also worked as a porn actor, committed suicide.
When she learned that the bill to protect people caught up in the porn industry was being debated in the Diet, she was happy that politicians finally had begun facing the issue of sexual exploitation of 18- and 19-year-olds.
The bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, allows people who agree to appear in pornographic content to terminate their contracts, and if so, the video vendors are obliged to recover the products and delete the footage.
It also mandates that a month must pass between the signing of the contract and the filming of the video, and four months between the filming of the video and its public release.
Although it targets people who appear in porn regardless of age or gender, the lawmakers came up with the bill after Japan lowered the age of adulthood in April, making it no longer possible for 18- and 19-year-olds to cancel contracts to which they have agreed.
The bill was passed unanimously in a plenary session of the House of Representatives in late May. The House of Councillors will deliberate on it for a possible enactment in June.
When the adulthood age was 20, it was possible for 18- to 19-year-olds, including those who were coerced to appear in porn, to stop the sale or distribution of videos as they could use the "minor's right to rescind," which allowed them to void contracts concluded without parental consent.
While welcoming the move in parliament, Natsu said it is "only the first step" and future focus must be on how the planned law will be enforced for the benefit of the victims.
Maiko believes there are many who are forced to pursue porn for their "survival" and that there should be a more reliable way for them to access medical care and welfare before it comes to that.
© KYODO
