So far, there is no research to indicate whether or not Takagi’s dolls would be successful, and Peter Fagan from the John Hopkins School of Medicine is skeptical that there ever will be. Citing cognitive-behavioral theory, the paraphilia researcher believes that contact with Trottla’s products would likely have a “reinforcing effect” on pedophilic ideation and “in many instances, cause it to be acted upon with greater urgency.” The research Fagan cites to support that conclusion is based on offenders, so it is unclear whether the effects would be different for non-offenders.

Michael Seto from the University of Toronto speculated on the possible existence of two distinct populations of pedophiles. Drawing an analogy to methadone treatment for opioid addicts, the psychiatrist hypothesized that “for some pedophiles, access to artificial child pornography or to child sex dolls could be a safer outlet for their sexual urges, reducing the likelihood that they would seek out child pornography or sex with real children. For others, having these substitutes might only aggravate their sense of frustration.”

“We don’t know, because the research hasn’t been done,” he concluded. “But, it would be a very important study to conduct.”

Klaus Beier, the initiating scientist of the pedophile-prevention network Don’t Offend, has been investigating what differentiates pedophiles who act on their impulses from those who do not. “We can detect pedophilia by examining the activation patterns associated with sexual arousal through neuroimaging,” the sexologist noted. “The far more interesting question is—is the person able to control this behavior?”

In an fMRI study currently under review and financed by the German Ministry for Education and Research, Dr. Beier and his colleagues say they have found stronger connectivity in brain regions related to impulse control in pedophiles who have not offended compared with those who have. “Just because a person is pedophilically inclined,” Beier concluded, “doesn’t mean he is a danger.”

Even without supporting research, Takagi is convinced that his products save children. “I often receive letters from buyers,” he said. “The letters say, ‘Thanks to your dolls, I can keep from committing a crime.’ I hear statements like that from doctors, prep school teachers—even celebrities.”

While our meeting that day was brief, Takagi invited me to visit his mountain workshop the following afternoon. I met him, along with my translator Natsuko at the Hachioji train station, an hour north of Tokyo.

Takagi described most of his clients as “men living alone.” “The system of marriage is no longer working,” he said. “While most people buy dolls for sexual reasons, that soon changes for many of them. They start to brush the doll’s hair or change her clothing. Female clients buy the dolls to remind them of their past, or to reimagine an unfortunate childhood. Many of them begin to think of the dolls as their daughters. That’s why I never allow myself to be photographed. I want to prevent them from seeing me as the father of the dolls.”