New AV Law – The problems with a law created by discrimination and prejudice (Japanese article)

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1. Article translation (DeepL, edited):

   > **No hearings were held for the concerned parties, and the filming schedule was blanked out one after another immediately after the law went into effect.**
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   > 　The New AV Act, which was promulgated and enforced in June of this year without conducting hearings with the industry groups involved, is the subject of a petition drive by industry groups demanding its revision on the grounds that it “does not correspond to actual conditions” and “unfairly deprives women of work opportunities.” The initiator of the campaign is a sexy actress. We interviewed Ms. Sakura Tsukishima, who has been active on SNS since the beginning of the debate on the issue of pornography, which was triggered by the lowering of the legal age of majority, and also met Ms. Ayaka Shiomura, a Diet member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan who led the passage of the new law. (Reporting and writing by Yusuke Sato)
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   > 　The new AV law makes it mandatory for all adult video shootings to have a written contract and explanation of the content, prohibits filming for one month after signing the contract, prohibits publication for four months after filming, and allows contract cancellation and suspension of sales and distribution for one year after publication. The legislation was passed quickly, within two months of the start of discussions, as an emergency measure in response to concerns that 18- and 19-year-olds, who had previously had the right to rescind contracts with minors, would not be able to do so following the lowering of the age of majority in the Civil Code on April 1 of this year. On the other hand, no hearings were held with the industry associations involved in the process of enactment, and due to the confusion in the industry, new filming schedules were cancelled one after another immediately after the enactment of the law. According to a survey conducted by the Japan Production Association of 441 people in the industry, including current actresses, 37% said that their income had decreased by 50% or more, and 7.8% said that their income had decreased to zero.
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   > 　Ms. Tsukishima began actively communicating on social networking sites in early spring of this year, when discussions began on AV performance in connection with the lowering of the age of majority. “At the time, before the legislation, few people in the industry had a sense of crisis, and it was a lonely struggle,” she recalls.
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   > 　”I had seen many examples of protests by feminist groups on SNS and wondered why advertisements collaborating with anime and manga were being slammed. I knew that if I got involved, I would get into trouble, so when the Civil Code amendment caught my attention, I had to do something to protect my industry. I’ve been sending out messages to let people know that in proper porn, we don’t allow minors to perform, and there is no coercion.”
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   > **Before the new law, the industry sold only those that passed a rigorous screening process as “appropriate AV”**
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   > 　Although the term “appropriate AV” is often used in the same sentence, the industry, even before the new law was enacted, has been selling only “appropriate AV” that has passed a rigorous screening process that takes into consideration the human rights of the performers, does not contract with minors without parental consent, explains the shooting content, conducts STD testing before shooting, and makes clear where the copyrights lie. On the other hand, there is also “illegal AV,” such as that produced by malicious companies that do not belong to the Japan Production Association, personal filming, doujin porn, and optional filming of paparazzi and prostitution acts that are reproduced on video websites. Ms. Tsukishima is also in favor of helping victims of illegal AV, but she would like to see a distinction made from proper AV, which follows the rules.
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   > 　She said, “The law was made by people who don’t know the industry, who want to eliminate porn anyway, and who have discrimination and prejudice against sex workers, so they don’t know that there is proper porn that voluntarily follows the rules, and they assume that all actresses are poor people who have been tricked into performing. I don’t feel bad that my nudity remains (in video form), in fact I am proud to do this work, hoping to sell it and have more people see it. Right now, the goal is not to help the victims, but to clamp down on proper pornography without victims by making an example of it.”
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   > 　After the new law went into effect, she continued to candidly communicate about how her income had decreased due to a series of filming cancellations, and in July, through an acquaintance, she met with Representative Ayaka Shiomura, who had initiated the bill. She explained how the views of the parties involved should be reflected.
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   > 　Ms. Tsukishima told me, “Ms. Shiomura’s opinion was one-sided, saying, ‘Do your best under this law,’ or ‘This is a special job,’ but she did not answer my questions, saying, ‘You should discuss the important points in your industry.’ I also asked her to speak with someone from JPG (Japan Production Group), which has objective data, but Shiomura refused, saying, ‘Production people are a bit …….’. I wasn’t convinced at all, but I took a picture together with the person who introduced me for the occasion, and I later saw the picture in a post on social media, ‘I met with an AV actress, and she was convinced!'”
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   > 　Regarding this matter, Senator Shiomura’s office stated, “Several actresses, including Ms. Tsukishima, visited our office together with Mr. and Mrs. Ryuichi Yoneyama, a member of the Lower House. They asked for an explanation of the process of enactment of the ‘AV Appearance Victims Prevention and Relief Act.’ Our secretary was also present at the meeting, and we presented materials and gave them a detailed explanation, and we believe that they were satisfied with the process of the law’s enactment,” the written response states. Additionally, regarding part of Ms. Tsukishima’s claims, “Regarding Ms. Tsukishima’s tweet about the contents of the meeting being different from how they were described, the tweet seems to have been deleted,” so there seems to be a discrepancy between their claims.
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   > 　Ms. Tsukishima is currently appealing to the government as much as possible by gathering signatures on SNS and talking to Diet members she sees on the street, but she says that it is not easy to get her thoughts across to the government.
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   > 　”I’ve been told by people around me, ‘I won’t get any more jobs, so I’ll have to give up and quit.’ ‘I don’t have any support to change jobs, so I have no other choice but to go into the sex industry.’ I hope that the AV Prevention and Relief Act will also provide relief for actresses who have lost their jobs.”
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   > 　The women who will be forced into poverty as a result of the new law. We wonder if their heartrending appeals have reached the Diet members.

   Also, [here is a relevant tweet](https://twitter.com/Aiue_mio1/status/1560251459941216256) from an AV actress who explains how she had to retire from AV due to the new law.

   And a [relevant tweet](https://twitter.com/sakuratsukisima/status/1560082183880347649) from Sakura Tsukishima.