Young Japanese woman are poached based on their good looks, and are told they will make it in the entertainment industry.
Young Japanese woman are poached based on their good looks, and are told they will make it in the entertainment industry.
Kurumin Aroma was just walking down the street when she thought she found the opportunity of a lifetime. Little did she know she was being tricked into the porn industry and would later struggle to escape.
She is just one of many young Japanese women being hunted on the street and tricked into doing porn.
They are poached based on their good looks, and are told they will make it in the entertainment industry.
Young women who have dreamt of an acting career quickly sign contracts. But little do they know the "entertainment industry" they are joining is actually the porn industry.
A report from Human Rights Now, which fights against the exploitation of women in the porn industry, found the young women, often in their 20s, thought they would be used as models but were instead forced to appear in pornographic videos.
"Our investigation revealed that there have been a number of cases in which young women, who never intended to appear in pornographic videos, were forced to participate in the industry after signing contracts with their production companies," the Human Rights Now report said.
"These companies would threaten them with remarks such as 'you can't refuse the work since it's required under contact', 'if you refuse the work, you have to pay penalty charges for defaulting' or 'we'll inform your parents about your work (if you don't take the job)'.
"It is a grave human rights violation to take advantage of young women who are uninformed of the responsibilities and risks entailed in their contracts by coercing them into performing unconsented sexual acts in public display (in front of the filming crew) and to later circulate these pornographic videos on the internet.
"Furthermore, it is common practice in the pornographic film industry to portray young women experiencing hostility and violence, such as assigning them roles similar to slavery or 'debt bondage' accompanied by threats of penalties for refusal."
Aroma was approached on the streets of Tokyo about four years ago and she believed she was being poached for glamour modelling. She wanted to follow her dream of being a celebrity.
Aroma, now a popular YouTuber, told The Guardian she was given a business card by a man from a talent agency, who she thought she could trust.
She was later given a contract that stated the modelling job would require her to be nude.
Human Rights Now lawyer Kazuko Ito is fighting for changes to the adult industry in Japan. Photo/Facebook
"That was the first I'd heard about nudity," she told The Guardian.
"I cried, but felt under a lot of pressure to say yes, so agreed."
After she signed the contract, it was suggested she appear in an adult film.
She agreed after up to eight men in the industry demanded her to do it.
The Japanese porn industry rakes in almost $6 billion a year and about 20,000 new titles are released every year.
"For the whole time I was involved in the porn film industry, my male handlers told me I belonged to them," Aroma told The Guardian.
"I had no freedom and nowhere to turn for help. I was trapped."
Videos of her were released online and Ms Aroma said while she had not discussed it with her parents, other "furious" relatives turned their backs on her.
A group of young women protesting against the abuse within the porn industry recently held a conference in relation to the Human Rights Now research.
According to Japan Times, more than 130 cases of women being exploited have been aired and many are claiming sexual abuse.
A new police crackdown will closely monitor agents hunting women on the street but Human Rights Now lawyer Kazuko Ito told The Guardian the entertainment industry had to change.
"There is no law against coercing women into appearing in porn films, and no government supervision of the industry. But this isn't just a legal issue, it's a violation of human rights," she said.
