While the world loses its mind over Brexit, there have been an interesting development in our distinctly Japanese industry. The Intellectual Property Promotion Association, the JAV industry group that represents the labels, issued an apology last week for "not acting of its own volition" after Japanese police arrested several executives from a talent agency after a former talent alleged she had been raped repeatedly on camera for adult videos and threatened with financial penalties if she didn't complete her contractual obligations. The IPPA further revealed it had spoken with human rights lawyers and come up with suggestions to "govern the behaviour of production companies to try and prevent further abuse."
This is not a new development. A human rights group publicly announced that the number of young women hoping to be models and then forced to participate in pornographic movies was rising. What's different here is that the young woman decided to go to the police on this matter. Usually, the women stay silent. In this case, the fact the young woman was allegedly forced to participate in over a hundred films probably gave her enough impetus to do something about it.
The apology is probably the first of its kind, but there are issues with the "proactive" side. First, about 20% of "legit" adult film producers are not part of the association, and none of the underground pornographers (obviously). Second, this does nothing about the profit motive of the likely true owners of the entire entertainment industry, the yakuza. Third, this is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. There won't be any penalties for not following it. Don't expect the Japanese government to make much of an effort to regulate the industry beyond the famous censor mosaic - yakuza involvement virtually ensures a blind eye.
Let's analyze a bit and look at the perp. I know I've spoken in legalese, dropping in the "allegedly" often, but I'm 99% certain that the executives from the Marks Japan talent agency are guilty. The Japanese justice system is risk-averse, underfunded, and undermanned - they only prosecute cases they are absolutely certain they will win. In other words, cases with a preponderance of evidence. At the same time, who the bloody hell are Marks Japan? I spoke with Mr. White before writing this, and he only learned of them when I sent him the BBC article. Given Mr. White's encyclopedic knowledge on the "backstage" of the JAV industry, that was all I needed to confirm my suspicions that Marks Japan was another "pump and dump" agency, the kind that takes up expensive offices in an overpriced, trendy area like Shibuya in order to use the veneer of respectability to use and discard the naive. Of course, step on one of these cockroaches and they'll respawn under new management elsewhere.
In my Yua Mikami review, I noted what she probably had to do to continue her career as an idol until she was (probably) dismissed for rebellion. If this happens at a talent agency with global notability, a no-name agency without even a website is even more likely to use the young women desperate to become a celebrity. Aspiring talent should look for reputable agencies and if they are found wanting, they should give up and do something else. There's no reason to take a chance on celebrity when they're more likely to end up scarred. This approach preserves the naive from despair they could have avoided in the first place and leaves only those willing to accept the risks.
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