Government subsidy stripped from ‘naked news’ program

TOKYO (TR) – The government subsidy afforded to SKY PerfecTV satellite porn channel Paradise TV for providing sign-language assistance within its naked news feature will stop next year, but the unique program will continue, according to officials from the station.

“Hadaka no Shuwa News (Nude Sign Language News)” is a short segment within the channel’s “Nude News Station,” which is broadcast each Friday between 9 p.m. and 9:55 p.m.

“Hajime Shimajiri was the original director of the show,” said spokesman Shinichiro Fukuyama of Paradise, whose wacky programming in the past has featured the making of brownies from the breast milk of lactating mothers and the peddling of silicone love dolls live on the air. “He set his mind to creating a new style of news – something that nobody else was doing.”

With content originating at bath-side, in which a caster undresses as she runs through the day’s events, or next a weather map, where a forecaster’s clothes will be pulled off seemingly by a raging snow storm, “Nude News Station” integrated the five-minute “Nude Sign Language News” program starting in 2004. It began with a fully clothed sign-language signer making motions in a corner of the screen to supplement the main anchor, in the buff, reading the news in the center.

The sub-program “One Point Sign Language Lessons” gives instruction on various colloquial terms and phrases, such as “hand me your penis” and “don’t look at my breasts,” which requires the signer to make two large sweeping motions with both hands in front of her chest. To reinforce the learning process, the text of the phrase appears on the bottom of the screen and the actions are repeated multiple times.

For “Nude Sign Language News,” the tasks of the current signer, Miyabi Fujino, have recently expanded in both scope and size. Instead of a fringe role off to the side of the screen, the actress is seen in the full frame delivering the news while disrobing in between motions.

“At first, it was very, very difficult,” recalled the spokesman of the show’s beginnings. “It took us one year to find a girl who could do sign language and take off her clothes simultaneously.”

Further complicating matters, Fukuyama explained, was the fact that the first anchor found it troublesome to accurately sign the rather crude terminology in the lesson segment.

Help came via social networking Web site Mixi. Four months after the program started, Paradise searched through the site and found a deaf graduate student who agreed to teach the girls the ropes in sleazy signing.

Applied for a subsidy

About two years ago, Paradise applied for a subsidy through the Broadcasting Programming Center of Japan. The center has a contract with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), which is funded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. NICT can pay up to half of the production costs for adding features to benefit visually- or hearing-impaired viewers.

Thus far Paradise has received 150,000 yen for broadcasts that began in September last year and concluded in March this year. This October 250,000 yen will be provided for broadcasts running through the end of March 2008. After that the subsidy will cease.

This month the Ministry modified the subsidy allotment program to restrict adult content. Paradise, however, has no intention of stopping its sign-language stripping. The program is now employing its second instructor and fourth sign-language presenter.

“We have received so much positive feedback from people who work with the disabled,” said Fukuyama. “They have encouraged us to keep going.”

Paradise TV does not take pride in having played a key role in changing government policy, but it does feel overjoyed to have connected with a new audience.

“We are very proud that a lot of people have begun to think about the sexual desires of disabled people,” said Fukuyama.

Note: This article originally appeared in August 2007 on the Sake-Drenched Postcards Web page.