Tokyo mayor apologizes for sponsoring porn event in public park
In August, a “sexually explicit” event featuring an adult video filming vehicle was held in and around a municipal park in front of JR Nakano Station in Nakano ward, west Tokyo.
The event was the “Pink Bon Odori,” held on August 1 at Nakano Central Park. It was sponsored by the ward.
At a press conference on September 8, Mayor Naoto Sakai apologized. “It was inappropriate, as it took place in a public space frequented by children,” reports the Sankei Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun.
Sakai clarified that no sexual content was mentioned in the sponsorship application.
The “Pink Bon Odori” was a pre-event to the popular Nakano Station Bon Odori Festival, held on the following two days and attended by 90,000 people. The “Pink Bon Odori” was also organized by the main festival’s executive committee.
“Pink” is a common euphemism in Japan for sex. Erotic movies, for instances, are known as “pink” films. Bon odori, or Bon dance, events are very common in Japan in August as part of the Obon period, during which it is traditional to honor your dead ancestors.
A filming vehicle owned by an AV company headquartered in the ward was displayed, and porn stars reportedly danced to music “containing sexual content” (we assume this means the lyrics). The news reports do not name the company, but the event publicity materials make it clear that it was Soft on Demand, the largest porn production company in Japan.
The “filming vehicle” was likely a version of the magic mirror truck, which has one-way glass and is used to shoot porn content in public.
We’re not sure why Mayor Sakai was talking about the scandal this week. It came to light almost immediately after it was held and the ward issued a formal complaint on August 8, demanding the organizers delete the executive committee for the main festival delete social media posts featuring the vehicle.
At the press conference, Sakai stated: “An adult video filming vehicle was set up in the park without permission. I regret that the information was not included in the sponsorship application documents.”
The ward protested to the organizers, calling the event “against public order and morals.”
The festival organizers apologized on their website. “We take seriously the opinions and concerns we have received from local residents regarding some of the planning and production.” The head of the festival committee was photographed posing inside the magic mirror car in his Bon dance yukata. The image was posted on the festival’s official social media account.
Soft on Demand did not comment.
