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 ...
You can be an acclaimed actor and also a sex symbol. That's perhaps not acknowledged enough, especially in Japan, where beauty inevitably tends to take precedence over talent.
There is quite a discrepancy between "serious actors" and the "stars," who are generally hired for their looks and fandom. Perhaps only a handful of lead actors are truly able to navigate both aspects of their fame.
Shizuka Ishibashi (石橋静河), the 27-year-old actor known for her roles in films like The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue Mika and 37 Seconds, has decided to take advantage of her ...
It's true that we don't talk enough about vibrators on this little blog of ours, since we tend to have our hands full covering all the latest developments in Japanese adult video, gravure, onaholes, dolls, and more.
But that's not to say we aren't looking. Far from it.
We recently spotted a novel series of vibrators that recall another line, the aptly named Amazing Beasts dildos by Daimaoh inspired by the genitalia of dolphins, wolves, and dragons.
The Love Vibe series of toys by SSI is a colorful reinterpretation of the classic rabbit vibrator, taking the "bunny ears" part that is ...
As reported before on this blog, the implications of the change in the age of legal adulthood in Japan from 20 to 18 for the adult industry are attracted negative attention.
There are fears that teenagers will be forced into contracts and productions they don't want to make, especially as it comes in the relatively recent wake of coercion scandals in the industry.
The change comes into effect from April 1, the start of the new fiscal year in Japan. Women (and men) aged 18 and 19 will now be able to make contracts without parental consent, which includes contracts to appear in adult content ...
She is, in our humble opinion, the proud owner of the best pair of buttocks in gravure at the moment, and now she's just showed us even more of them.
Umi Shinonome has released her first photo book, Umi no naka (a pun meaning both "Inside Umi" and also "In the Sea"), this month, which has a decidedly summery, beach theme.
With her G-cup bust and 100-cm hips, the gradol is absolutely popular with male fans, but she has cemented her following with her videos showcasing her hobby: building models.
A print photo book is another major step in her career.
The 25-year-old is promoting her ...
Skinship is big in Japan: a concept of bodily intimacy via contact through the skin, such as by sleeping on neighboring futon or, most obviously, bathing together.
So while your mom or bestie might not hug you as much, you will bathe with your immediate relatives, such as your kids, siblings, or partner, and it doesn't cease to be a thing even if you only have one of those square bathtubs hardly large enough to fit an average Westerner's body. People just sort of clamber in and sit on top of each other in the bath.
Of course, communal bathing culture extends to bathhouses and hot springs, ...
Is it something in the air? A kind of "comeback vapor" that's encouraging all these lovely ladies to re-enter the limelight?
Another one has come out of the woodwork: in the wake of high-profile comebacks by the likes of Yukina Kinoshita, Shizuka Nakamura, and Ai Shinozaki, we are very pleased to welcome the return of Shoko Nakagawa.
The 36-year-old tarento, voice actress, and singer is celebrating 20 years of her showbiz career with a new photo book.
Famously short at 155 cm (a smidge over 5 feet!) and a proud owner of a "duck-bill mouth," the cutie and firm fan favorite has been ...
We make no secret of our admiration for Japanese adult toy brands like G Project, whose output always impresses.
And just when we think we've seen every possible variation on the masturbator, along comes another kind of toy to shake things up a little.
The Kuu-Hip Masturbator Cushion with Sex Voice Speaker is a holder for stroker toys that enhances grip, so you feel like you are having sex with a real body. It fits a wide range of pocket pussy toys. Functioning like a butt/hips-shaped air doll (though it's more like a mini hug pillow), you can also put underwear on it to spice things ...
Tenga is, as regular readers will know, one of Japan's leading adult toy brands, and surely the one that has the most success overseas, helped by its very clean and universal design (a far cry from the kind of highly Japanese style of hentai illustrations you find on box art on releases by Tama Toys, Toy's Heart, and so on).
A Tenga-related topic we often like to discuss here on this blog are the various marketing campaigns that the company does, such as the rocket it launched into space or its hat for dispensing tissues.
In addition, Tenga also does serious research related to sex and ...
She teased. The mainstream media lapped it up. She delivered. Now the publisher is looking to see the impact on the sales figures.
The former top fashion model Yukina Kinoshita has attempted her comeback with a page straight out of Angelica Michibata's book: when in doubt, take off your clothes.
As we continue to revel in a wave of nostalgia with recent gravure comebacks by the likes of Shizuka Nakamura and Ai Shinozaki -- likewise, nude or semi-nude -- we were intrigued by this slightly different case, in which the model Kinoshita, after being dropped by her agency over the celebrity's ...
