Japanese politicians finalize legal exemption for teenagers appearing in porn

A cross-party set of Japanese lawmakers succeeded in putting together emergency legislation on March 31 exempting the changes to the age of adulthood for contracts related to adult video.

From today, April 1, the age of majority becomes 18 in Japan, though people are still unable to drink or smoke until 20. The voting age was already lowered a while ago. Perhaps the biggest effect of this change is that 18- and 19-year-old can now sign fully binding contracts with employers without the consent of a legal guardian. Previously, they retained the right to cancel a contract.

This was seen as a way to protect young people from signing up to things they did not fully understand, including making a contract to appear in porn when they didn’t actually want to do it. In recent years, the JAV industry has been rocked by accusations of coercion from performers and ex-performers. With the new age of adulthood looming, certain female politicians realized that this protection would disappear and young people, especially young women, may be more vulnerable to deception and coercion.

The quickly agreed legislation, spearheaded by Ayaka Shiomura and Seiko Noda, means 18- and 19-year-olds in Japan will remain able to cancel contracts signed with porn production companies. The hope is that this will prevent exploitation of young people by scouts and producers. The legislation package, which also includes plans for an online consultation platform, now requires Cabinet approval but has already received public support from the government.