Debate rages among performers over consent in porn

How consensual is porn?

The upcoming change to the age of adulthood in Japan and its implications for people signing contracts to do porn has prompted politicians to scramble to make legislation protecting teenagers from embarking upon an adult video career. (Opposition lawmaker Ayaka Shiomura, however, has faced male laughter when addressing the issue in the Diet.)

The situation has reignited the issue of consent and coercion in porn, with some arguing that women as young as 18 or 19 shouldn’t be allowed to sign contracts independently due to the complex nature of the legal clauses and because they may feel forced to sign.

Former JAV porn star Sakura Aida, however, has asserted on social media that most women work on porn shoots by their own consent. She knows she had other choices but says she chose AV because it was a way for her, as someone without a higher education, to earn a good income.

Yumi Ishikawa, the ex-actor who appeared in gravure and nude shoots before becoming a social activist for feminist rights (most notably, the right for women to wear whatever shoes they feel comfortable in, known as the KuuToo movement), has criticized Aida on Twitter for this, noting that she wasn’t there by her own consent. Though she has no direct experience of porn, she heard from co-stars who worked in AV that there are “no women who do it because they want to.” Ishikawa criticized Aida for her claim to be speaking as someone who worked on porn shoots, since it may be held up as support for the industry in regard to the coercion issue.

The exchange sparked something of a Twitter spat between the two former colleagues, and ignited replies from members of the public both supporting and opposing their respective opinions.

Ishikawa has previously spoken of her own experiences of sexual harassment and how her gravure shoots and chakuero (clothed porn) DVDs were released without her prior consent. Since launching her second career as a feminist activist, she has found herself the regular target of online abuse and trolls.