TOKYO (TR) – It is a charity event whose premise would cause Jerry Lewis to blush: Offer a donation in exchange for fondling the bare chest of an adult video (AV) actress.
Yet he might applaud its success.
On Saturday and Sunday, donors contributed a record 6,144,567 yen during “24-Hour TV: Eroticism Saves the Earth,” a somewhat controversial event that supports research for the prevention of HIV and AIDS, which remains a concern in Japan.
Over the two days, seven AV stars, dubbed “milk fortune gods,” gathered on a stage, decorated like a summer festival, inside theater Face Shinjuku to offer their breasts to the cause.
“I’ve got the smallest chest of all (of the actresses), but let’s save the world through the strength of eroticism,” said actress Yukina Matsuura, 20, who checks in with a 80-centimeter chest, prior to the start of the event.
By the time the dust had settled, 7,175 fans — an increase of 1,330 over the total the year before — of the more than 15 adult channels hosted on satellite broadcaster Sky PerfecTV! had taken their turn after paying a suggested minimum contribution of 1,000 yen.
Since its launch in 2003, the event has usually been a mix of live underwear auctions, phone sex sessions and erotic performances with the boob booth serving as the main attraction. This year was no exception.
With popular actress Mana Sakura serving as a host, portions of the breast-squeeze proceedings were broadcast live. Also shown were programs featuring top actresses from the SkyPerfecTV! roster of channels. Auctions offering adult goods were also held.
For some, however, “Eroticism Saves the Earth” — whose red, white and black logo takes a stab at the design for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo that was rejected over plagiarism accusations — is too light-hearted given its premise. At Change.org, a petition seeking to end the event has been launched.
The petition claims that the event is using a noble cause as a pretext for an event that is sexually discriminatory. “It is a disservice to those around the world who are seriously fighting AIDS,” the petition says. It also says that AIDS and breasts are not related.
Whether the action will gather a following — currently it has just over 1,000 supporters — is not known. What is a certainty, however, is that HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, remains a concern in Japan.
In May, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the number of people in their 20s who were newly infected with HIV reached a record high of 349 in 2014. Overall, the number of new cases of HIV and AIDS has held steady since 2008.
Donations to “Eroticism Saves the Earth” go directly to the Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention. The event had annually raised roughly two million yen for the foundation until 2012, when the total topped 4.8 million yen. Two years later, SkyPerfecTV! took over its operations from the founder, channel Paradise TV.
Other events in Japan offer support to the same cause. On December 1, which is World AIDS Day, the Fuji TV building in Tokyo’s Odaiba area was lit up with red lights as a means of paying tribute. The month before, the popular Hachiko statue outside JR Shibuya Station was draped in red a ribbon to honor the same day.
But nothing quite compares to “Eroticism Saves the Earth.”
“It was great to come into contact with so many people,” Matsuura said after the event, according to Tokyo Sports (Dec. 6). “With foreigners also (attending), I could feel in my chest that the power of eroticism is infinite. From now on, I’ll be demonstrating that power.”
