Three years on, porn law has failed to stop illegal practices in adult video industry

Three years on from the passing of the controversial porn law, the situation for the Japanese adult video industry remains complex.

Prompted by a desire to curb the issue of coercion in porn that had led to numerous scandals and arrests, as well as fears that the lowering of the age of adulthood to 18 needed safeguards to protect teenagers from exploitation, the porn law gave performers much stronger rights, including cooling-off periods after a contract is signed and a production is filmed.

It seemed to usher in a real shift in the discourse, to such an extent that some pushed to end unsimulated sex in porn or even for a ban on porn itself (like in South Korea), despite Japan having one of the largest porn industries in the world.

Performers campaigned against the law and there was even a street protest (from women who did not support JAV but actually felt the law had the obverse effect of legalizing contracted sex).

Moreover, loopholes quickly emerged, not least amateur porn.

This month marks the third year since the Adult Video Appearance Victim Prevention and Relief Act was enacted. The law has not magically stopped the issue of coercive practices in porn, and performers continue to consult with authorities about their appearances.

The National Police Agency data shows that not everyone is complying with the new law and arrests for violations are increasing year by year, from one in 2022 to 11 in 2023, and 29 in 2024. The rise might indicate that police are getting better at enforcing the new law, rather than an actual rise in the number of people flouting it, but either way, illegal practices are continuing.

The Cabinet Office reports that the number of consultations regarding AV appearances received by the one-stop support center was 164 in 2022 and 218 in 2023.

Perhaps it’s too early to write off the law as a failure, but it certainly does not seem to have stopped illegal practices. Advocates might argue, though, that the increase in consultations merely shows that more performers now have recourse to legal help (whereas before they had almost none) and that the rise in numbers shows how knowledge of the one-stop support center has grown.

According to a report in the Sankei Shimbun, support groups are calling for caution against clever tactics induce people to appear in videos.

The nonprofit Paps, which provides support to victims, says that scammers have been scouting women on the street while concealing the fact that they are appearing in AV, or posting “model recruitment” ads on social media.

Another recent issue complicating the situation is the rise in young women with debts at host clubs. The media and police have tried to use this as a simplistic explanation for the uptick in visible prostitution in areas like Okubo in Shinjuku. Some women with such debts may also resort to appearing in porn, including semi-legal “amateur” productions, though we expect their reasons and motivations are far more manifold than the “host clubs as root cause” narrative being pushed these days.

The new law has made it easier for ex-performers to request the removal of porn videos, but completely erasing content is something of a pipe dream given how videos now spread to various online platforms upon release.