According to a report in *Toyo Keizai*, it was previously believed that AV actresses worked very hard and should earn a lot of money. However, the reality is surprising. Many actresses are struggling to make ends meet, living in dilapidated apartments and unable to even pay their phone bills. The reason for this is the prevalence of free websites like Caribbeancom and XVIDEOS. Young people are already accustomed to watching adult films online and are unwilling to pay for them, leading to a significant shrinking of the AV market.
As mentioned above, current average AV sales in Japan are only 30-40% of their peak. Coupled with rampant overseas piracy, production companies are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. Ordinary actresses who only make one or two films but fail to achieve fame are essentially discarded after use, or even treated like strangers, leading to many actresses becoming increasingly impoverished, barely able to maintain a basic standard of living, unable to improve their economic situation.
As for the exact figures? For ordinary AV actresses who aren't wildly popular like Yua Mikami or Seiko Takahashi, their annual salary is actually lower than one might imagine, roughly equivalent to that of a caregiver for the elderly. DMM, Japan's largest adult video website, seems to have anticipated the potential collapse of the AV industry and has already extended its business into anime idols to expand its business and solidify its foundation—a truly difficult situation.
