TOKYO (TR) – The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused many to increasingly remain in place and rely on the internet for work and entertainment.
That hasn’t necessarily been the case for purveyors of illegal adult DVDs: Sales of the plastic media often rely on members of its largely elderly customer base to visit an actual shop, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Nov. 12).
On Tuesday, Tokyo Metropolitan Police raided a residence that served as a warehouse in the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward and seized 15,570 illegal adult DVDs.
Under the law, the genitalia of the performers in such productions must be obscured with what is known as a mosaic. The source discs of those sold illegally in Japan are sometimes intended for the overseas market.
According to police, the operation sold discs to a customer base made up of persons in their 60s or older, many of whom possess low internet skills. Since opening in May, the setup accumulated 42.5 million yen in sales.
“I didn’t know what we were selling”
Police also arrested the proprietor, Manabu Kimura, 42, for allegedly distributing obscene electronic media.
“I didn’t know what we were selling,” Kimura was quoted by police in denying the allegations. “I didn’t know the content [of the DVDs].”
Two other persons were arrested in the case: 36-year-old Kazutaka Kudo and 69-year-old Kiyoshi Sakamori.
The operation was run out of a store separate from the warehouse. After a customer placed an order at the store with Sakamori, Kimura searched the warehouse for the requested titles. Kudo then delivered them to the customer at the store.
The going rate was 10,000 yen 30 DVDs, police said.
