A Sexy Actress Describes the Difference between the Adult Industry in Reiwa and the Heisei Era

With the advent of the Reiwa era, various industries are undergoing a period of change under strict compliance.

Among these industries, one that has been forced to undergo a particularly drastic change is the “adult video industry. Three years have passed since the “AV Appearance Damage Prevention and Relief Law” (hereinafter referred to as the “New AV Law”) was promulgated in June 2010. This law has greatly reduced the number of victims who are filmed and sold against their will. Arrests have also been made throughout Japan. In June of last year, a company owner in his 20s was arrested in Tokyo for having a high school girl perform in his company. In July, a male company employee in his 30s was arrested in Chiba Prefecture for allowing a woman to perform without signing a contract.

On the other hand, some complain that their work is adversely affected by restrictions such as not being able to film for one month after signing a contract and not being able to publicize their work for four months after filming is completed. In February last year, sexy actresses and industry professionals held a petition drive in nine prefectures across Japan to revise the new AV law.

The Adult Industry Now and Then” as Told in Manga

One woman depicts the reality of the rapidly changing industry in a manga. She is Moe Aizawa, a sexy actress who resumed her activities last year for the first time in 13 years after a hiatus since her arrest in 2009 for violating the Methamphetamine Control Law. We asked Ms. Isawa about her frank thoughts on the “New AV Law. (All statements in parentheses below are those of Ms. Isawa.)

I think there are many girls who have been saved by the “New AV Law. In that sense, I think it is a good law. On the other hand, the number of actresses has increased overwhelmingly because the industry has become safer. With that, competition has become more intense, and more and more actresses are losing their jobs. Top actresses are good, but actresses who cannot appear in stand-alone productions on their own are paid less per film. In the Heisei era, even a role with no name was worth 80,000-100,000 yen per “involvement. In Reiwa, however, the lowest fee is 30,000 yen. I have the impression that the industry is saturated with actresses, and the gap is widening.

I also had a very difficult time in returning to work. In my case, however, the main reason was my own background (laughs). (Laughs.) Although the new law does not specify the use of people with criminal records, there is a heightened awareness of compliance in the industry as a whole.

Mr. Godawa says, “Thanks to the new law, the “bad shoots” that occurred in the Heisei era have almost disappeared. In the late 2000s, when he was active in the industry, there were many “demo shoots” that would be unthinkable today, he says.

In those days, it was an everyday occurrence to be asked to do something that was not in the script on the day of shooting,” he said. In the case of aphrodisiacs, we would mix aphrodisiacs with drinks without the actresses’ knowledge and have them take the actual medicine. Actresses were also uninhibited, and there were even some who came to the scene in a “smoking hot” state after taking the drug and babbled on and on during the play. …… It would be unthinkable today (laughs).

On the other hand, he spoke fondly about the production of his work.

Of course, the Heisei Era was not all bad. In the old days, we used to shoot a single production in three days: jacket shooting on the first day, drama part shooting on the second day, and the intertwining of the two on the third day. There were many staff members on set, including the director, AD, lighting, sound, cameraman, hair and makeup artist, etc. There were 6 to 7 people on set. Nowadays, there are many actresses and production companies are very busy, so shooting is basically done in one day, even for stand-alone productions. I hear that four to five people are working on set. I think the new law was a good thing, but on the other hand, I feel that the enthusiasm for production has decreased.

The adult video industry is going through a major transition period. I hope that the industry will continue to be a place of expression where both performers and producers can be satisfied. ……