Were you surprised to see the news headline?
“AV Relief Bill Passed in the House of Representatives, to be Deliberated in the House of Councillors”, so, the new AV law has passed?
That's right, this “AV Relief Bill” has been passed in the House of Representatives of Japan and sent to the House of Councillors for deliberation. Will it become a final bill? Let me explain. In Japan, the House of Representatives is considered to better reflect public opinion and holds a higher position. If a law passed by the House of Representatives is objected to by the Senate, it can become law if it passes again with a two-thirds majority of the members present in the House. If the Senate cannot reach a decision within a certain time, the House of Representatives' decision prevails...
So it seems that although there is still room for the AV industry to operate, the situation is extremely urgent. I know everyone is concerned about whether all future works will be unable to be real, but judging from the news releases, that's not the case:
(Perfume Jun, SSIS-442)
The situation hasn't reached its worst yet, right?
Not necessarily. If this bill passes, it will still have negative effects on the industry. There are three key points: First, actresses can unconditionally terminate their contracts one year after a work is released, effectively reducing the five-year clause to a one-year one-year clause. Actresses can quickly erase their traces from the AV industry after retirement. Second, actresses have the right to terminate their contracts unconditionally, and production companies and agencies cannot seek compensation from them; the recall and handling of works will be the responsibility of the production companies. Finally, and most importantly, any sexual content during filming must be communicated in writing, and the actress must agree and sign a document before filming can begin…
While the performance aspects won't be significantly different from the current situation, reducing the five-year clause to one year is still quite alarming. For example, many people still fondly remember "Hirose Ren," who will have been gone for a year in August. If she invokes the new law, all her films, including solo performances and compilations, will have to be recalled, with the production companies absorbing the losses. Furthermore, the right of actresses to terminate their contracts unconditionally also frightens production companies and agencies. If they encounter an actress who acts recklessly and abandons her career, all operations must immediately cease. The production company will inevitably suffer losses, and the agency will also be sued for compensation:
(Hirose Ren, SSIS-087)
So what is the biggest impact of this AV relief bill? The industry consensus is that it will be difficult to see actresses receiving long-term contracts in the future. For example, Yua Mikami once mentioned on a program that she received a signing bonus enough to buy a house in downtown Tokyo after signing a performance agreement. The production company was so willing to pay that amount because the contract was very long, and they weren't worried about not getting their money back. Even if Mikami ran away, they could claim compensation and make her return the money. But things are different now. Actresses can unconditionally void their contracts and cannot be held liable for damages. Why would production companies dare to offer long-term contracts? Or, to put it another way, even if a production company offered a very long contract, would your agency dare to accept it? If an actress runs away and the production company holds the agency responsible, the company will go bankrupt.
I really admire Makoto Toda; she has everything under control. The people who designed this bill are so black and white, living in their own fantasy about the AV industry: Simply put, this AV relief bill aims to prevent 18-19 year old girls, fresh out of high school, from being lured into the AV industry to perform against their will. But firstly, the AV industry has already stated that no 18-19 year old girls have performed in recent years, yet these legal officials neither hear nor see it and insist on forcing it; secondly, these legislators directly believe the industry is evil and actresses are lambs to the slaughter, unaware that some actresses have ruined their agencies. Blindly targeting the industry will ultimately backfire on the actresses. To put it simply, 18-19 year old girls can forget about making films; the AV industry would absolutely not dare to touch those young beauties. Furthermore, if a girl's family experiences a major crisis and urgently needs money to pay for her father's funeral, then sorry, the AV industry won't choose that option either, because no one dares to sign long-term contracts. Forget about Miyuki Yokoyama signing a 3-year contract for over nine figures; even the recent S1 contract of 12 films plus 3 VR films for 66 million yen will likely become a thing of the past.
No wonder the industry is considering further action. If the news reports are true, actresses will likely be even harder to work with, and the risks of running a company will increase significantly. Additionally, because no one dares to invest heavily, actresses will be eliminated faster than ever before. Where will these women go? Naturally, they'll end up in the so-called doujin AV (FC2, overseas Chinese platform) and the sex industry. Perhaps this is good news for fans, but is that what the politicians want?
