TOKYO — Porn is getting a rise out of the “land of the rising sun.”
The adult industry in Japan is booming to the tune of 20,000 new porn film releases each year with more than 6,000 new girls clamoring to become adult stars.
According to a RocketNews24 report, the country’s porn industry accounted for more than 20 percent of the worldwide market in a 2006 survey and has been growing every year since.
And the girls are breaking down producers’ doors to become stars.
Journalist Atsuhiko Nakamura has interviewed more than 500 Japanese actresses in his bestselling book “The Nameless Women” and found that unlike the late ‘90’s when most girls wouldn’t consider porn even if paid six figures, today the girls are rushing to break into the business.
“Many girls enter the AV [adult video] industry each year, but not necessarily all for the same reasons;” Nakamura said. “Some do it entirely for the money, while others are just comfortable with the idea of having sex in front of people and see it as any easy job. It just works for them.”
The report noted that while there were always spots open for amateurs in the '90's, now only 15 out of 100 aspiring actresses can land a role and the rest are turned away at the door. “It’s just like applying for a part-time job at a convenience store.”
Some of the talent comes from leading universities and are more desirable because of their academic backgrounds, according to Nakamura. He noted that one girl quit her job at a major bank to enter porn and was happy with her career change. Girls like her, and those with jobs like teachers and nurses are more likely to make the cut.
And the pay ain’t bad.
Most contract girls perform in three videos, two couples scene and one solo. The rates range from about $1,900 to $3,800 depending on the girl’s experience and background. But most earn at the lowest end of the scale because of the competition.
But it’s not all good news for the wannabe Japanese porn stars. Nakamura told RocketNews that once they make some money and return to civilian life things change.
“A lot of girls find themselves unable to return to regular jobs after working as an AV model; they have worked in an often lucrative business, some for many years, so to go back to a standard job for a much smaller salary is not easy.”
He added that about two thirds of former porn girls end up in the sex industry, working in hostess bars or hookers in "soap-land" bath houses.
