The fashion model and celebrity Marie has stirred up the perennial issue of the casting couch in the Japanese entertainment world. The 33-year-old, who is half French Canadian and half Japanese, has claimed that she was propositioned when she was 18 by the now-retired comedian Shinsuke Shimada. The encounter is being described as "makura eigyo" (literally, pillow business), the Japanese word for the casting couch. Shimada was then at the height of his fame and the implication no doubt was that sleeping with him would further her own career. Marie made the allegation on April 4 and then ...

A Japanese newswire article about sexual harassment among aspiring models and idols is doing the rounds, confirming what we've been saying for years. Apparently, a government survey has shown that 26.9% of Japanese young female models and starlets have received "unwanted requests for sexually oriented photo shoots." This comes hot on the heels of last year's controversy about widespread coercion in the porn industry. In the first survey by the Cabinet Office on sexual abuse against young women, 7.7% of respondents had been offered contracts to become models or starlets. Asked about ...