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Osaka cops: Producer of AV series tricked women into performing

A DVD from the "Idol in the Making" series
A DVD from the “Idol in the Making” series

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have re-arrested a businessman suspected in the recruiting of young women for adult video (AV) productions by pretending to be seeking models, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 29)

In October of 2014, Shinichi Kanazawa, 48, allegedly filmed a woman, then an 18-year-old resident of Osaka Prefecture, to appear in an installment in the AV series “Idol in the Making” by initially telling her that she was to be a model for costumes, a practice termed “cosplay.”

According to police, the suspect, who has been charged with harmful business recruitment, targeted women for supposed cosplay shoots via online solicitations by offering compensation of up 200,000 yen, according to Jiji Press (May 29). However, the shoots in fact included the women performing obscene acts in swimsuits and starring in full-blown AV productions.

Kanazawa was not just the manager of the operation. He also directed and starred in the productions. Prior to the shoots, which were conducted in a studio inside a residence, the suspect had the women sign contracts with wording regarding possible penalties for breach of contract, such as the refusal to appear.

Since 2012, Kanazawa engaged in contracts with more than 200 women, aged 18 or 19, across the nation for the “Idol in the Making” series, which has collected about 147 million yen in revenue.

Earlier in May, police first arrested Kanazawa, who also runs an online adult site, over the alleged sale of pornographic DVDs deemed illegal due to the lack of obfuscation of genitalia.

Police are now investigating whether to charge Kanagawa with coercing the women to perform.