Press "Enter" to skip to content

Nowadays, any woman in Japan can be a porn star

Josei Seven Jan. 8-15
Josei Seven Jan. 8-15
In early December, adult video (AV) label Maxing began promoting the debut release of an actress going by the name Yuzu Sakurai.

The cover of the box of the DVD, due to hit store shelves on January 16, boasts that she is the daughter of a very well-known person.

Naturally, weekly tabloid Josei Seven (Jan. 8-15) is curious about the identity of the celebrity — but adds that, nowadays, it should not be shocking if just about anyone enters the world of porn.

Promotional information from Maxing describes Sakurai as a woman with a desire to become an AV actress. “This could be an act of rebellion stemming from a complex home environment in which personal expression was restricted by a famous parent,” the copy reads. (If that doesn’t pique interest, this might: “She’s a 19-year-old cool beauty with a wonderful G-cup body.”)

One AV insider speculates that “celebrity” could refer to a performer, athlete or person of letters, while “complex home environment” may mean a divorce or a second marriage.

“I’ve had inquiries from people in the industry about the identity of the parent,” says the source. “One cannot help but wonder.”

Josei Seven says that Internet bulletin boards are certain to be filled with rumors, with some rejecting the idea that the offspring of a big-name talent would enter such a profession.

One shouldn’t be too hasty, says the aforementioned source: There are a lot of women (past and present) who have dabbled in the trade.

“Each year, 35,000 films are released in DVD form or on the Internet,” says the AV insider. “Further, 3,000 women sign on as actresses annually.”

Figuring that market demographics generally require the actress to be aged somewhere between 20 and 60, the source surmises that there are 150,000 women with “experience.”

“With the number of women in that same age range totaling 30 million,” continues the insider, “that means 1-in-200 has appeared in AV.”

To put things into perspective, for a company with a 1,000 female employees that converts to five women.

“Nowadays, at famous universities (to work as an actress) is not unusual,” says the source. “The threshold to perform in AV is lower than you think.”

AV producers are highly accommodating to the needs of an actress requiring confidentiality, whether that means the provision of plastic surgery or altering a photo appearing on the cover of a DVD box.

“With the exception of popular actresses, there is filming ongoing today of amateurs pulling in up to 600,000 yen (a film) — all unknown to their families,” says a different employee in the industry.

Even AV production staff members are likely unaware of the personal histories of the actresses.

“After all, it is not a crime,” says the staff member.

Source: “‘Omono geinojin no musume’ ga AV debyu kankei-sha ga kataru sono shinbyosei,” Josei Seven (Jan. 8-15, page 60)