Yesterday, many friends sent me this statement, asking if it was real.
This is a statement issued by the "AV Appearance Policy Committee," which lists several problems the industry must immediately address. I've summarized the key points that have alarmed everyone below:
1. Talent scouts are prohibited from being used to discover new talent.
2. Every stage of filming must obtain the actress's 100% consent. If the actress disagrees, filming must be stopped immediately.
3. Contracts can be cancelled at will, and production companies and agencies cannot object.
4. The following themes are no longer permitted to be filmed:
(1) Perverts
(2) Drugged rape
(3) Couple swapping
(4) Threesomes, foursomes, orgys
(5) Forced sex through power
(6) Oral sex
(7) Anal sex
(8) Foreign object insertion
(9) Humiliation (facial ejaculation, multiple facial ejaculations)
(10) Extreme SM
(11) Gang rape
(12) Rape
(13) High school girls
(14) Picking up girls
(15) Incest
(16) Rape in a massage parlor
5. Actual penetration is prohibited (this type of act is forbidden), mucous membrane contact is also prohibited (kissing, oral sex, etc.), and any projects related to prostitution or adult entertainment must be immediately cancelled.
This statement is true, but if it were actually implemented, the AV industry might as well shut down, right?
Therefore, we must understand what the "AV Appearance Policy Committee" does and what influence it has on the industry. To put it simply, this is a follow-up to Japan lowering the age of majority to 18. Remember what happened back then? The opposition parties rallied social elites to condemn the AV industry, accusing them of corrupting children and pushing naive young women into a dangerous situation. This forced the AV industry to reveal its true nature: there hadn't been any 18-19 year old AV actresses performing in recent years…
Then, let's look at the members of this AV performance policy committee and the members of parliament who agreed to attend the public hearings after submitting a petition to the Diet. You'll understand:
Seeing Mako Gunji, you'll know she's one of those people who oppose 18-19 year olds making AVs!
So, we can conclude that, firstly, this "AV Appearance Policy Committee" is not an official industry organization, but rather an organization composed of journalists and lawyers who have been trying to change the industry and fight for the rights of victimized actresses since the AV coercion scandal (agency-driven contract traps forcing actresses into filming). These human rights organizations have been targeting the AV industry for years, either representing actresses who claim they were forced into filming (but as you can see from research, either the actresses withdraw their lawsuits or they don't pursue charges, which explains why the industry considers it a miscarriage of justice), or giving unsolicited advice on what the industry should do—but rather than acting in the best interests of the industry, they genuinely want to destroy it. If things were done according to their suggestions, probably no one would want to watch AVs anymore.
So the question is, will the AV industry change because of them?
Interestingly, I asked a senior member of the talent agency association, and his response was: "AV Appearance Policy Committee? Who's that?" After reading their statement, he sighed and said, "The trouble is about to increase again..."
What kind of situation will arise? Do you remember the rumors from a few years ago that actresses could no longer wear school uniforms for performances, and might even be prohibited from having sex? It's actually quite similar to this incident. To prevent these people from escalating the situation and getting daily media coverage, the AV industry takes some defensive measures: For example, top-tier studios are less likely to openly label actresses as "high school students" (though they still wear school uniforms), and they're more lenient towards actresses wanting their work removed from shelves—not necessarily requiring a five-year freeze. This is the same strategy used against these people before, and it's likely similar this time. Some more controversial works have been preventatively removed (SM content is much less common on FANZA now, isn't it?). (Right?), and then Mia Nanazawa released three promotional videos emphasizing the importance of "legitimate AV," stating that she's doing business legitimately:
To be clear, some works will temporarily or permanently disappear because of this "AV Appearance Policy Committee" statement, but the extent to which this will happen is currently unknown; don't scare yourselves unnecessarily, the AV industry executives aren't that stupid. Accepting those statements blindly means everyone will be packing up and leaving. Things still need to be done. The Japanese government knows that taxes from the sex industry are important; as long as you don't commit crimes, everything will be fine.
