Asia After Hours

In a special section dedicated to trends in China, weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Oct. 1) explains that while Japan may have recently been surpassed by its Asian neighbor in GDP it is China that still has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to debauchery. One article discusses the porn industry. Let’s take a stab at that, so to speak.

The tabloid explains that it is impossible to measure how much influence the Web has had on the world of AV, or adult video. China is certainly no exception as porn sites are growing exponentially and overtaking the popularity of video tapes and DVDs.

Minetoshi Yasuda, a nonfiction writer, says that while the Chinese Government imposes restrictions there are still numerous ways to cheat with a personal computer. “But law enforcement is not that aggressive,” the writer says. “It is more concerned with monitoring political sites and dealing with issues related to Tiananmen Square. Basically, they are simply pretending to monitor but in fact are not.”

The magazine notes that if one uses a Virtual Private Network (VPN) software client he can process data transfers securely and without detection. As a result, a VPN enables a user to have a similar scope of access to that available in the U.S. and Japan. There are also vendors who download content on behalf of users, typically for an annual fee of about 2,000 yen.

In a country filled with so many restrictions, this technology has something of a liberating effect, Shukan Post says, allowing one the right to speak freely and express opinions openly…and download porn.

“Japanese porn is by far the most popular,” Yasuda continues. “Maria Ozawa and Saori Hara are the top two, with Hotaru Akane also receiving rising support. On April 11, tweets on the Twitter networking site” — which is currently blocked in China — “from star Sora Aoi yielded 10,000 Chinese followers, making it a major incident.”

(More specifically, Aoi indicated that she felt sympathy for the victims of this year’s Yushu earthquake in Qinghai Province and would like to assist in raising funds.)

The article also mentions that many sexually-charged events that promote adult wellness and reproduction are held in different regions of China. Tooru Muranishi, a director porn publishing house Soft On Demand, and other Japanese companies in the industry are proactively participating in these promotions.

Japanese AV has also had an impact on the language, specifically upon the writing of kanji characters, which originate from China.

“In China, the rendering of actress is 女演員,” Yasuda explains. “But nowadays when the Japanese version of actress appears (女優), which refers to any type of actress, it specifically means porn actresses to Chinese. Also, yametee (ヤメてー) — an exclamation for ‘please stop’ in a desperate and somewhat provocative way — is a famous phrase in China and those who are familiar with it likely learned it from Japanese AV.”

While Chinese rank Japanese at the top of marriage charts as far as prospective spouses, they also denounce Japan as being small and limited, a nation of face shots, SM play, mature women fetishes and rape fantasies.

You’ve come a long way, baby, smirks Shukan Post, just not long enough. (K.N.)

Source: “Ozawa Maria ni Hara Saori! Nihon no joyu dangi ni Hana sakasu,” Shukan Post (Oct. 1, pages 158-159)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

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Doing stellar work among Web sites auctioning the underwear and personal items once used by adult video (AV) stars is SEXUS, concludes Shukan Asahi Geino (Apr. 8).

Established four years ago, SEXUS allows customers to bid on the briefs of such starlets as Rin Aoki, Risa Tsukino, Kirara Asuka, Saori Hara and Maiko Yuki.

“All the items have gone through an approval process with the actresses’ production companies,” a representative of SEXUS tells the weekly. “There are of course no counterfeit items. We have 40 production companies, ten manufacturers and three publishers participating in this auction. We even have it set up so that customers can participate via mobile phone.”

Membership on the site has surpassed 18,000 and sales are increasing steadily. (The company is on Twitter here.)

Shukan Asahi Geino accessed the site and found numerous pictures of AV actresses sporting provocative panties, fishnets and costumes. Actual auctioning results include the 140,000 yen fetched by a special package of Rin Aoki’s underwear (“prepared” just for auction) and the undies of Saki Ninomiya, which went for 56,000 yen.

“Most items are updated on Mondays,” explains the same representative about how to best utilize the service. “Those auctions will then end between 9 p.m. and midnight on Sundays. If a customer peeks at the Web site during this period, he will likely find what he is looking for.”

The highest priced item was the underwear worn by Sana, which fell under the hammer at 265,000 yen. Nana Saeki’s necklace nabbed 185,000 yen. “Recently we have auctioned the panties from mature and rookie actresses,” the rep explains. “People also have been talking about an alarm clock that features the voice of an AV actress.”

One of the keys to the success of SEXUS is the presence of Taro Mori. He visits the actresses’ homes or shooting studios without appointments and acquires various items. Customers can watch him in action here.

“He’ll bring back at least 10 items per actress,” says the same representative. “Besides underwear and clothes, he has even collected waribashi (chopsticks) and PET bottles. His best haul was a year ago, when he visited @YOU. He collected 15 to 16 items, including a dildo.”

SEXUS also launched auctions for chaku-ero Idols, who make erotic sounds and images to be enjoyed on mobile phones.

“We want to have famous idols join as well in the future,” the employee says.

And the industry will continue to see a rise in popularity, winks the weekly. (K.N.)

Source: “Aoki Rin ’shiyou-zumi shitagi’ ga kougaku rakusatsu. Ninki AV joyu ’shibutsu auction’ ga daiseikyo! ” Shukan Asahi Geino (Apr. 8, page )

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

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Realizing that playing with pens can be just as beneficial as swords, former and current AV (adult video) actresses have released titillating tell-all memoirs over the past year as they pursue the fame of former starlet Ai Iijima, the author of the million-selling book “Platonic Sex” who died in late 2008, reports Shukan Shincho (Mar. 25).

Honoka resigned from the AV business a year ago, after starring in 50 films over a career that spanned five years. Her biography “The Basket” was released on January 18. The weekly provides one excerpt.

“He said, ‘Lick it.’ But I didn’t know what that meant, so I just followed his lead. ‘We’ll finish inside your mouth, and you’ll swallow it.’ I tried to imagine something drinkable but I didn’t know what kind of liquid would could be. I still wasn’t sure what was gonna happen. When he finished he smiled. ‘Let’s do it again sometime.’ Then the next thing I knew he was out the door. I was less than 10 years old at the time.”

A representative of publishing company Shufunotomo says that “The Basket” is really popular with girls. “The level of ‘Platonic Sex’ is our target,” the exec explains, referring to Iijima’s 2001 semi-autobiographical novel about the life of a runway who eventually winds up in adult video.

This is the 26-year-old’s second venture as a writer. Her first, “Koakuma Sex,” went on sale through publisher Best Shinsho in January of last year.

Saori Hara, 22, initially wanted to be an idol but wound up in porn, but unlike Honoka she is still at it. Shueisha released her confessional “My Real Name is Mai Kato: Why I became an AV Girl” last December.

“The actor opened his hand in front of me,” she writes. “It seemed really wet, filled with sweat…This part of the shooting was only supposed to take a few seconds. But then I realized that the wetness was from me, from down there. At that moment, it was spurting out of me. I felt messy, ashamed and sad. A lot of feelings were in my heart and mind, combating one another, and just like that it was over.”

Shukan Shincho reports that she has become Japan’s number one AV girl and the second printing of “My Real Name is Mai Kato” has sold 10,000 copies, largely the result of a boost in popularity following her arrest with renowned photographer Kishin Shinoyama in January. The pair were taken into custody for violations of public decency laws after shooting explicit photographs in the Tokyo area for inclusion in Shinoyama’s book “20XX Tokyo.”

Having better luck making it in the conventional entertainment industry is Mihiro, 27, who appears on television variety programs and in theatrical productions. Not surprisingly — given the direction of the article — she also performs naked in front of the camera, which is the subject of her memoir, appropriately titled “Nude,” released by Kodansha last May.

“The shoot had already started,” she conveys, recalling her first experience acting in a threesome. “The director barked, ‘Start!’ and things got going quickly. ‘Can I insert it, Mihiro-chan?’ I closed my eyes, waiting for him. But the other guy asked me to touch him. ‘Suck me,’ he commanded, and then his hardened thing was pushed into my mouth. ‘Ah,’ he moaned…at the same time, I felt something warm and hard entering me down below.”

As with Iijima, Mihoro admits that her narrative is not a completely factual account. “I cannot write all fiction,” she says. “So I wrote half real stories mixed with half fantasy.”

Adult media writer Rio Yasuda says that the AV business is assimilating itself with popular culture much more than ever before,” the writer explains “These girls used to live in another world, but now that is not the case. The stigma has faded.”

Shukan Shincho is hesitant to anoint any of these ladies as the second coming of Iijima, but it salivates at the prospect of perusing future entries. (A.T.)

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Fans of petite women are likely lamenting the ban recently instituted upon porn films featuring ladies possessing flat chests. But no worries, mate, chirps Weekly Playboy (Feb. 22), the measure is being implemented in Australia, not in Japan, where the AV (adult video) industry is pondering its next move.

At the end of January, the Australian Classification Board (ACB) reached a decision to prohibit the use of actresses with breasts registering less than an A-cup.

Even women over the age of 18 are subject to the regulations. As a result of this new requirement, a number of works featuring small-breasted women have been disappearing from store shelves.

The reason for this tragedy — as Weekly Playboy deems the situation — is an expansion in the definition of child pornography. Australia designates adult movies and pieces featuring individuals under 18 years of age to be categorized as illegal. The committee, however, went one step further and proposed a guideline whereby contents in which “those who appear to be younger than 18 will also be banned.”

Once rejected by the rating committee, the work cannot be sold via official channels.

Obviously, this is causing a huge stir on the Internet. “I want small breasts,” says one Australian commenter. “Those with implants are monsters.” Another adds, “The ban will cause us to criminalize freedom of expression.” Another Australian wonders if this will now necessitate plastic surgeries.

The ACB also banned scenes showing female ejaculation, reasoning that it looks too fake. If such content is found in a film, an investigation will commence.

The weekly tabloid then wonders if these actions will have an effect on the Japanese porn industry.

“It is possible that a actions could be made to expand further into the U.S.,” says an employee of a large porn company. “Nonetheless, Asian girls look younger and have smaller breast sizes compared those in the West. That means, those who cannot access certain films will likely turn to Japan and its films. This could be a good opportunity.”

Weekly Playboy, doesn’t stop there. As if to summon a defense of the nation’s talent, the tabloid includes a spread of big-busted AV babes a few pages later — including Mika Kayama and her 90-cm chest, Shoko Akiyama (88 cm) and AV “queen” Saori Hara, checking in at a more than respectable 85 cm. (K.N.)

Source: “Australia de hinnyu AV kinshirei. Areru fan to Nihon no kawazanyou,” Weekly Playboy (Feb. 22, page 171)

Note: Brief extracts from Japanese vernacular media in the public domain that appear here were translated and summarized under the principle of “fair use.” Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the translations. However, we are not responsible for the veracity of their contents. The activities of individuals described herein should not be construed as “typical” behavior of Japanese people nor reflect the intention to portray the country in a negative manner. Our sole aim is to provide examples of various types of reading matter enjoyed by Japanese.

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