AV star sued by production company for refusing to perform in porn

After the recent court ruling against the underage idol who “broke” her contract and had a relationship, and the ruling in favor of the hostess who had a long-running affair with a client, there have been some interesting legal developments in Japan of late.

Now a woman who refused to take part in a porn shoot and was sued for ¥24 million (over $200,000) for breach of contract by the production company has won her case.

The court in Tokyo ruled that the “nature of the work is one that you cannot force someone to do it against their will”.

The judge threw out the production company’s suit.

Considering a lot of minor porn stars get their start through allegedly being tricked into the industry by agencies who sign them to be “models”, this could set an interesting precedent. Surely the woman who was sued was in a situation that tens of thousands of adult video female performers and former performers have been in.

When they refuse, they are told they would have to pay huge fees to cancel the contract. This tactic is then used repeatedly to get them to take part in further titles. When the actress has lasted her worth — say, after 10 or so titles — she is released.

As the lawyer of the actress in this suit said: “There are many cases when women are threatened with huge contract penalties and forced to appear in adult videos. It is a grave violation of human rights.”

According to the ruling, the actress was scouted as a “talent” when she was a high school student and made a “business contract” with the company. She did fairly explicit glamor shoots but when she hit 20 — the legal age — the company decided that she was going to be work in porn. After she made her debut, they made a “performer contract.”

The woman suffered mental and physical problems from her new line of work, and when she refused to take part in another title, she was told she would have to pay ¥100 million (over $80,000) for “breach of contract”.

She sought help from a civic group and when she announced she was breaking the contract, she was sued in October 2015. The final ruling came in September.

We hope that the high publicity this case generates encourages women (and men) in similar situations likewise to seek legal help.

We love porn but we want it to be done by people who enjoy making it on all sides.