Real field reports and columns on Japan's adult-entertainment world
News
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.
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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.
News
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.
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An exploitative structure of 'binding through debt,' in which the sex industry and illegal money lenders work together, has come to light through the testimony of a former worker and a survey by a support group. Women take on debt from loan sharks and are then placed into sex-industry venues, where the debt keeps growing under a perpetuated system.
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A man who worked as a transport driver for a delivery-health service while stealing cash and valuables from customers' homes was arrested. The driver was a member of a theft group, and the number of incidents is believed to exceed 30, with total damages topping 5 million yen.
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Support groups calling for a law to prevent and remedy harm related to adult-video appearances submitted a petition to the Diet. Discussions in a cross-party parliamentary league have also intensified, with the aim of submitting a bill during the 2022 ordinary Diet session. Industry organizations have shown resistance, arguing that 'self-regulation is sufficient.
News
A cross-party parliamentary league aiming for a fundamental revision of the Anti-Prostitution Act held its first meeting on the 8th and began discussing the direction of new legislation on the sex trade. The focus is on enacting a 'Special Sex-Trade Law' centered on the principles of 'not punishing victims' and 'harsher penalties for exploitation and coercion.
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Marking a decade since organized-crime exclusion ordinances were in place across all 47 prefectures by 2011, the National Police Agency released an assessment report. While excluding organized crime groups (boryokudan) from the sex industry has produced certain results, latent involvement through front companies and 'hangure' (semi-gangster) groups continues, and the report assessed the effort as 'only halfway done.