Overview of the Ruling
On June 9, 2021, the Tokyo District Court handed down a guilty verdict—two years in prison, suspended for four years—against Takashi Nakamura (37), a former director at a video production company, who was charged with coercion and defamation.
The presiding judge found that "the defendant deliberately created a psychological state in which the victim found it difficult to refuse and led her to believe that refusal would result in disadvantage. This amounts to substantive coercion."
How the Case Unfolded
The defendant approached the victim (then 22) with the line that she "could work as a model" and used a method of gradually escalating the shoots. He ultimately demanded that she appear in an adult video, and when she refused, he threatened to "spread around the footage already filmed." Mentally cornered, the victim had no choice but to consent to appear.
The Growing Issue of Coerced Adult-Video Appearances
The issue of coerced adult-video appearances began to gain public awareness from 2016 onward through the activities of victim-support groups such as "PAPS." Debate in the Diet subsequently became more active, and around this time momentum was building toward legislation for the so-called AV New Act (the Act on Prevention of and Relief from Harm Caused by Adult-Video Appearances).
Lawyers and support advocates said, "This ruling is significant in that it recognized the absence of free will on the part of victims in the adult-video industry. It can be valued as a judicial judgment that may lead to legislation."
This article was compiled based on publicly available information and court records.