Unlawful Porn In Japan

Japan's multi-billion-dollar adult film industry apologized publicly and guaranteed change in response to allegations that women in their productions have been forced to perform sex act against their will. This month three of the industry’s scouts have been arrested and accused of forcing women to play in more than one hundred pornographic films in recent years.

Representatives of Japanese porn industry, The Intellectual Property Promotion Association (IPPA), said in a statement that they would "encourage producers to take action to quickly improve the situation and restore the soundness of the entire industry". The association states, they deeply regret that they’d failed to take initiatives to deal with the problem before and are very sorry.

The victim says, she has been made to perform in the sex movies by a threat that she would have to pay penalties for breach of contract if she refused, local media have reported. Apparently, the anonymous woman said, she thought she would be working as a model. In Japan the pornography is ubiquitous, but no one publicly talks about its dark side, and more so about the rights of people who work on adult films.

To shed light on the issue and raise awareness of the problem, the coalition of campaigners and attorneys have urged authorities to crack down on sexual mistreatment. Some actresses said they were forced to participate in multiple intercourses without protection and even being gang-raped during filming.

Shihoko Fujiwara a campaigner at Lighthouse, a non-profit that helps human trafficking victims, apologized and pointed out that not all porn producers acted illegally. "I believe this is the first statement of the kind issued by the industry group," Fujiwara said. "It’s important to now put impact on making sure that about 20 percent of producers who choose to break the law will now take responsibility for their doings."

Human Rights Now, a Tokyo-based campaign group, said the number of women seeking counselling over industry abuses jumped more than 80 percent last year from 2014.