Japan's Porn Appetite Fueling a Growing Industry

TOKYO — Porn Valley talent may be crying the blues, but in Japan’s burgeoning adult industry performers are literally working their assess off in an industry that’s producing twice as many films as the U.S.

The Japan Times reported that the country’s appetite for its homegrown porn DVDs and online content (the average consumer spends about $157 on average) is fueling the domestic industry as well as strong demand from abroad.

Over his 10-year porn career, performer Mumim said he regularly churns out six titles week.

And unlike its porn star-centric U.S. counterpart, Japanese consumers gravitate much more towards to amateur porn with everyday actors and believable plots — opening more doors for would-be talent. And performers come from very nation including some well-known U.S. stars, Nigeria, South Korea, Russia and Eastern Europe. The “dramas are much more realistic,” Mumim said.

There is similarity between the Japan AV (adult video) industry and the U.S. when it comes to paying male talent, however.Like the U.S., most films are produced for a cost of between $6,000 and $8,000, but the talent pay scale for the most part is actually below that of the U.S. A newbie cocksman in Japan gets a paltry $10 per movie that could go up to about $100-150 a film for reliable talent. Super studs can earn more than $500.Most are doing it for kicks — with some working for free, according to the article.

Female talent on the other hand can earn tens of thousands of dollars depending on the movie and type of content. Some of the higher paid girls include Maria Ozawa, Aoi Sora and Yuma Asami, who, like U.S. stars have a huge international fan base.

There’s also a growing need for amateur Japanese talent. Thousands of would-be porn stars reportedly appear on screen every year, with most lasting in the industry only about six months.

The article spotlighted 19 year-old university student Shiori Tsukada, whose porn scenes earn her more in a day than her waitress job would in months. The article caught up with Tsutaka shooting with one of Japan’s better-known AV studios, Cinema Unit GAS, and its globally respected director, Akira Takatsuki who prefers to work with big tit talent.

Although there may be a strong demand for porn in Japan thanks to its relatively new emergence, shooting content appears to be no different than what’s regularly shot in Porn Valley — just with new faces that prompt more consumers to lay down their cash.