Fetish AV floats Japan’s sagging porn industry

To be filed under: eye of the beholder.

On a number of occasions in October and November of 2013, an adult video (AV) company based in Fukuoka paid three women to sit on the floor of train cars of the Nishi-Nippon Railroad, expose their chests and lower bodies and urinate.

Earlier this week, police filed obscenity charges against the firm’s president, 42-year-old Hideaki Hirano, employee Yuji Yanagisawa, 33, and three actresses, aged between 23 and 28.

“In January of last year, the footage appeared in DVDs marketed in the ‘inappropriate urination’ genre,” a person with knowledge of the investigation tells evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (June 25). “Over the summer, viewers of the DVDs alerted law enforcement.”

According to the paper, such fanatical fare is finding favor with production companies as the industry’s prolonged struggles continue.

“This sort of AV film is for maniacs who are not satisfied with the small number of flicks that get illegally uploaded to the Internet,” says AV writer Kazuo Kajiyama.

According to Kajiyama, the market for fetish titles is stable due to a dedicated fan base that will pay a premium for DVDs (upwards of 10,000 yen each).

“With production costs for fetish titles being a few hundred thousand yen less than a mainstream production, a company needs to ship only 500 units to get a decent profit,” says Kajiyama. “A hit would mean selling a mere 1,000 units.”

Included in that cost calculation is the salaries of the actresses. In the Fukuoka case, the company, which was not named in news reports, compensated the women 10,000 yen each for the performances.

An industry insider tells Nikkan Gendai that the actresses were lured by the following promises: a 10-minute shoot, cash paid on the spot and absolute discretion.

“It’s a great way for a woman to earn easy pocket money,” the insider says.

It’s also a great way for AV companies to stay afloat.

“Because mainstream porn is continuing to downward, nowadays it is all about making productions for the maniacs,” says Kajiyama.

After establishing the company 20 years ago, Hirano started out by making films featuring tosatsu (peeping) shots on trains and roadways but the content gradually became more perverted.

The strategy seems to have paid off.

“The company released 25 titles this month,” says the aforementioned insider. “In spite of having only a few employees, its annual turnover is approximately 200 million yen.”

Nice work if you can get it, clucks Nikkan Gendai.

Source: “Kozenwaisetsu de taiho mania-muke AV meekaa no bachigaina satsuei,” Nikkan Gendai (June 25)