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Sex, drugs and let the tape roll: Former AV star Risa Koda pens memoir

Shukan Taishu Dec. 17
Shukan Taishu Dec. 17

“After I completed serving time in March of 2011, I stayed at home without doing anything. I knew an immediate return to the screen would be forbidden,” says former adult video (AV) star Risa Koda.

The Tokyo native had been arrested twice on drug charges following her retirement from the biz.

“However, there was a part of me that wanted to reestablish the recognition that Risa Koda had earned,” she tells weekly tabloid Shukan Taishu (Dec. 17). “I thought I needed to tell it all. So I decided to write a book.”

Released on November 30 by Futabasha Publishers, “Izonsho (Addiction)” chronicles her battle with dependency and the adult video world.

“Back then, I was dependent upon my parents, my friends, and a boyfriend,” says the 27-year-old. “I had no self-discipline. I just let myself float around, going through a worthless existence.”

In the end, she reached a stage where she had become dependent upon illicit drugs.

“I was such a fool because I jeopardized an opportunity for gaining self-esteem through my work as a porn actress.”

Koda made a name for herself in the AV industry in the gyaru genre, which typically features women possessing an excessively glamorous appearance. She debuted in 2005 on the h.m.p. label. The next year she was nominated in the Best Actress category at the Adult Broadcasting Awards.

In 2007, Koda joined big-name producer Soft On Demand and released four films, including her role as a brothel employee in “Super High-Class Soap Lady.”

She retired in February 2008. On October 10 of that same year, Koda and tennis professional Joji Miyao, who was her boyfriend at the time, were taken into custody for possessing stimulant drugs and cannabis.

“After I was arrested for the first time, I was released on probation,” she says. “Then I visited my friend, a hostess and with whom I used to do drugs. I could see that she was using again.

Izonsho
Izonsho
“When I spotted her,” she remembers, “my heart started to pump and I told myself, ‘I cannot do this, absolutely no,’ and refrained for three hours. But when I was about to leave her place, I said, ‘I want to take a hit.'”

Koda came to realize that people in entertainment world are big fans of porn. “So, when I would go to clubs, they come up to me and say, ‘I always watch your work.’ Eventually, they’d ask me to come to their events, and I’d end up having many acquaintances from within the entertainment industry.”

Then rumors started circulating. “People were saying that I can be easily had for a one-night stand. I had pride in my profession, and I was faithful to my boyfriend. I actually thought those who believed I was easy were pathetic.”

In February of 2008, Koda was arrested again for stimulants possession. She served a sentence that extended for one year and four months at the Fukushima Prison.

Koda maintains that she does not crave drugs any longer. “Nor do I want to approach places or individuals associated with drugs,” she says.

Still, there are those who think she will suffer a relapse. “I understand that, and thus I will not do it again. I don’t want to jeopardize this important time in my life with something like drugs.”

Koda realizes that dependency does not have to involve drugs, and can occur in many situations, such as at work, in a relationship, or within a family.

“I know kids who are in the midst of a struggle and have lost their vision,” she says. “I am preparing myself for activities that will empower such kids.” (A.T.)

Source: “Moto karisuma AVjoyu Koda Risa gekishiro geinokai ga akashita geinokai ‘yakubutsu to SEX’ osen no zenbo,” Shukan Taishu (Dec. 17, pages 190-191)