New law to allow porn performers to cancel contracts, boost safeguards for AV stars

MeToo has finally caught up to the Japanese film industry, with multiple allegations of assault and harassment against directors Hideo Sakaki and Sion Sono as well as actor Houka Kinoshita.

Amid concerns over coercion in porn, politicians in Japan have been working on creating a legal exemption for adult video contracts to the newly lowered age of adulthood in Japan (from 20 to 18).

Though the move, which was prompted by the realization that the legal change this spring would remove the safeguard for porn whereby underage performers required a parental guardian to sign for them, has enjoyed cross-party support and plenty of positive media coverage, the politicians involved have now said they are unable to restore the right to cancel a signed contract if 18 or 19 in the case of AV.

Since this simpler approach is not possible, lawmakers said on April 25 that they need to create an entirely new legal mechanism that enables teenagers with the same power to cancel contracts. As they cannot make a limited exception to the new age of adulthood just for this case, they have actually proposed broader legislation.

The new act will allow performers to release themselves from their contract up to a certain time period after the shoot. It is hoped that this will protect young people (especially women) who are manipulated into signing a contract to appear in porn against their will.

More significantly, this new power has no conditions and will apply to all porn performers (not just those aged 18 and 19), male and female.

The act also makes the AV production team responsible for explaining in writing to performers about the concrete acts required for each production, and whether the performer will be identifiable from the footage.

The proposed legislation would prevent producers from filming a video with a contracted performed until at least 20 days after signing the contract, effectively providing a cooling-off period in which the performer could walk away from the contract if they have second thoughts. And in an apparent nod to the ongoing controversy over post-retirement JAV releases, the legislation also has a clause that says that any production made on the basis of the contract must be released within three months.

In addition, the politicians are moving forward with plans to build a support network for young women who need support regarding exploitation.

Perhaps conscious that its previous coercion scandal put it in an unpleasant spotlight and attracted the risk of regulation and interference, the adult video industry has so far reacted cautiously to a proposed loophole for 18- and 19-year-olds to retain the right to cancel their contracts (though the ultimately proposed legislation goes must further). An industry body officially announced that it recommends performers continue to join when they are 20.

The earlier coercion scandal (around 2016) led to arrests but despite initial speculation of a political crackdown, resulted in no legal changes or real pressure from the national government. As such, the newly proposed legislation, though surely welcomed by all responsible producers with an eye on the long-term future of the industry, is quite a radical development with major repercussions for JAV.