Ahead of launching her own business, former porn star Ai Uehara wins high-profile diversity award

Former top adult video star Ai Uehara is about to kick off her second career with a crowdfunding campaign later this month. The details are still a little slim, though it seems to involve launching her own photography brand. We hope to report more next week.

In the meantime, Ai has been in the news for another reason: she won the Miss iD 2021 award.

The 28-year-old was selected from 2,676 candidates and 194 finalists for the prize, which is now in its ninth year.

The finalists had to attend interviews to win over the the judges. Following auditions held online last August, the event to announce the prize was held in a quieter form this year because of the pandemic and there was no in-person audience.

The award, which is run by publisher Kodansha, celebrates diversity (iD means “I diversity”). It used to be a more typical beauty contest for gravure idols, like the ones who appear on the cover of the manga magazines that Kodansha publishes.

We would like to think that Ai was chosen as an example of true diversity in society — one that can include people working in the adult industry. The mainstream media in Japan still balks at referring to porn stars for what they are, using the euphemism “sexy actress.”

Ai Uehara has sadly retired from porn, leaving behind one of the most profound legacies in the industry. Fortunately, though, we can still buy her toys to recreate her body in action.