TOKYO (TR) – Kaoru Yasui, a 26-year-old adult video (AV) actress, has opened up about the severe sexual harassment, financial exploitation, and voyeurism she endured as a teenage gravure model, including a cover-up that left her contemplating suicide.
Growing up in a financially unstable household Yasui sought out lucrative work from a young age.
“From the start, I was the kind of kid who just really wanted money. Due to family circumstances — or rather, mostly because of my father — I grew up in an environment that certainly wasn’t wealthy,” Yasui said. “So, back in high school, I started looking for part-time jobs that paid well without being illegal, and I ended up working as a model for photo sessions.”
The shifts ran from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and the daily pay was 18,000 yen. “That was pretty good money for a high school girl,” she said.
Gravure idol
At 16, she briefly worked as an “underground idol” but quit shortly after due to unpaid wages and sexual harassment from the agency’s president. Seeking a more legitimate path, she debuted as a bikini model, or gravure idol, at age 17.
However, the financial reality was grim. Despite appearing on magazine covers, Yasui revealed she was essentially working for free, occasionally receiving a maximum of 5,000 yen per gig. Her only real income came from private photo sessions.
The darkest moments, however, occurred behind the scenes. Yasui detailed rampant sexual harassment within the gravure industry, recalling a shoot for an image DVD where a cameraman in his 50s repeatedly pressed his lower body against her while working.
Hidden camera
The abuse escalated that night when the crew stayed at a cottage. While showering in a bathroom with a glass window adjoining the cameraman’s room, Yasui noticed a hidden camera recording her, and saw a hand reaching out to adjust it.
When she protested, the cameraman vehemently denied the voyeurism, and the entire incident was swept under the rug by production staff.
“The fact that a man in his 50s would do that to a teenage girl was incredibly shocking,” Yasui said. She admitted the trauma and subsequent cover-up left her locking herself in her room, seriously debating whether to take her own life.
AV debut at 20
Believing the AV industry could not be any more dangerous than the abuses she suffered in gravure, Yasui made her adult film debut in 2021 at the age of 20.
While she initially struggled with the tension of being filmed having sex, she says she has spent the last six years honing her craft. She noted that physical attractiveness is not enough to survive in the industry, which requires acting skills and an understanding of how to present oneself on camera.
Unlike many in the AV industry, Yasui has faced no backlash from her family. She has been open about her career with her relatives, and both her mother and father support her choices.
Immense physical pain
Yasui recalled a moment when she nearly walked away from the industry after enduring immense physical pain during a shoot and callous treatment from production staff. Crying on the train ride home, she told her mother she was ready to quit.
Her mother simply replied, “That’s fine, just quit. There are plenty of other places to work.”
Yasui said that unconditional support ironically gave her the strength to continue.
Looking ahead, the self-proclaimed “otaku actress” — who also works as a DJ utilizing a love of film and music inherited from her father — plans to continue performing in the AV industry. Her ultimate goal is to save and invest her earnings to give back to her family.
