TOKYO (TR) – Top government officials met on Tuesday for the first time to discuss measures to combat increasing numbers of women being forced to appear in adult video (AV) productions and the issue of compensated dating by teenage girls.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told the assembled lawmakers that “the issue of sexual violence targeting young women is an extremely serious situation,” reports the Asahi Shimbun (Mar. 21).
Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policy of having women play an active role in society, the government aims to toughen its crackdown on the AV industry and enhance counseling services at a time when education and jobs are increasingly focused on the capital.
Suga acknowledged receiving a request for “urgent measures” to be taken from Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s junior coalition partner that has been calling for greater support for an increasing number of women claiming to have been forced into the AV industry.
Komeito has also been pushing for campaigns to promote public awareness at educational institutions to strive to prevent instances of coercion and the toughening of regulations against content that includes extreme sexual content, such as rape.
Just the tip of the iceberg
Over a three-year period starting in 2014, police found 25 cases of women being forced into the AV industry, according to a report compiled this month by a Cabinet Office research committee. Over 16 years, two private organizations discovered 100 instances, a figure that is regarded as just the tip of the iceberg.
Police also found that the number of cases of compensated dating (enjo kosai) at establishments employing teenagers, known by the abbreviation “JK” (joshi kosei, or high school girls), rose in the capital to 174 as of January 2016 compared to 132 in June 2015.
Businesses often target women who are isolated from their families or school, as well as those having financial difficulties. Such victims are further isolated by being told they would be exposed to their school or family if they try to quit, concealing what Komeito calls a social problem.