Controversial new Japanese porn law enacted, opposition party calls for outright ban on adult video

As already reported several times on this blog, Japan’s groundbreaking new porn law that aims to protest performers’ rights has now passed the Diet after approval in the Upper House on June 15.

The legislation, which was initially proposed by opposition lawmakers and taken up by a cross-party group, was sparked by the realization that lowering the age of adulthood to 18 would have implications for previous safeguards for young people working in porn or the gravure industry, and fears that teenagers would be exploited and coerced into contracts they either did not understand or did not really wish to sign (e.g., being scouted as a “model” but then auditions and jobs becoming sexual). These fears come in the wake of the coercion scandals that rocked the adult video industry in Japan in the late 2010s.

In the end, after a certain amount of wrangling, the law went further than expected, in part because a simple workaround that would make employment of 18- and 19-year-old in porn a legal exception was apparently not possible.

The law, which is the first of its kind in Japan, allows performers to cancel a contract unconditionally up to a year after a film is released. This period is two years for the next two years as a transitional measure.

In effect, the legislation gives performers the right to halt sales and distribution of a production.

There is also now a cooling-off period, which will likely cause consternation for those planning release schedules for popular performers and debutants. Now producers must wait a month after a contract is signed with a performer and a further four months after a shoot is completed to release the work, allowing the performer time to change their mind and walk away without any penalty fees.

Producers and directors must now give detailed documents to performers specifying the sexual acts involved in a shoot, including if the performers will be identifiable in the final production.

In terms of the particular issue regarding intimidation and coercion, producers will face up to three years in jail and large fines if they try to prevent a performer from withdrawing from a contract.

The porn world, which is regarded as a multi-billion-dollar industry, has responded with caution, no doubt worried about further restrictions. It already created its own set of compliance guidelines after the initial coercion scandals to offset the bad publicity and damage, but the balance of power has decidedly shifted toward performers, and the political and media climate is currently not favorable toward the industry.

Some performers, though, have criticized the law for giving special treatment to what should be left up to individuals (since we would not expect such legal safeguards for people who want to work in, say, a retail store). Established stars like Mao Hamasaki, Hibiki Otsuki, and Sakura Tsukishima have come out to warn of a potential crisis in the industry due to the increased bureaucracy that the new legislation entails, not to mention the risk that it will initiate an exodus of performers from the industry. Some have lambasted the way the law was debated and decided by lawmakers with limited understanding of how the industry works, and the media for giving too much exposure to the “horror stories” of exploited and coerced ex-performers, who arguably do not represent the majority of performers or the professionalism and ethics of the major production companies.

Some campaigners, though, say the law’s safety net does not go far enough, providing only vague promises of “guidance” for performers who seek help. The onus is now on government bodies to establish effective ways for people to get help if they need it. However, there are social issues that the law does nothing to address: that is, the problems that may lead a performer to turn to AV for money as a last resort, such as domestic abuse or poverty. It could be argued that the new law unfairly penalizes the industry due to the actions of certain “bad apples” and lets society get away with not engaging with deeper-rooted problems.

Others have also protested against the law for giving de facto recognition to contracted sex (effectively legalizing prostitution) and helps bolster the AV industry by introducing support mechanisms for performers, thus legitimizing and making porn more palatable as a part of the economy.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which was instrumental in putting the new law together, has now indicated its support for a law banning porn outright. Last month, CDP lawmaker Kaname Tsutsumi proposed in the House of Representatives that politicians consider a law that would prohibit porn that involves actual sex. If that were to happen, adult video would essentially become pink movies (sexploitation films), which are explicit but ultimately softcore. The former porn star Yuri Komuro made a similar proposal several years ago.