Woman tricked into porn describes how it happened
A Japanese woman has spoken out about how she claims she was tricked into starring in porn films after being approached on the streets of Tokyo four years ago.
The Guardian reports that when Kurumin Aroma was first asked if she was interested in "glamour modelling", she thought it might help her become a TV celebrity, a long-held dream of hers. What she hadn't realised, however, was that the 'talent scout' had very different ideas.
Speaking to The Guardian, 26-year-old Kurumin described how that initial conversation led her down a scary path of being pressurised into performing sex on film, something she never felt comfortable with. And worryingly, she's not the only one; a report conducted by the Tokyo based organisation Human Rights Now found that a growing number of women in Japan were being forced into the porn industry with threats of fines and blackmail. Most of them were approached in the street - just like Kurumin was - and later coerced into featuring in adult videos despite their protests.
"The talent scout had a proper business card and spoke very respectfully, so I thought he was someone I could trust,” Kurumin, who's now a prominent YouTuber speaking out against the ploy, said. At a later interview, however, the president of a so-called entertainment production company gave her a contract to sign which stated she would have to take her clothes off for a photo shoot. This was the first mention of nudity she'd heard.
"I cried, but felt under a lot pressure to say yes, so I agreed," she said.
The pressure only mounted when the company called her to their office and eight male members of staff reportedly made consistent attempts to convince her to take part in a porn video. Not knowing what else to do, Kurumin eventually relented and agreed.
Recalling the nightmare of taking part in something so degrading given that it was against her will, the young woman told how the production company bosses told her she could stop at any time she wanted, "but that wasn’t true", she added.
It's a known issue in Japan, with the Intellectual Property Promotion Association - the body which represents Japan’s porn industry - apologising and promising it would encourage producers to change their ways to improve the reputation of the industry.
Currently, there is no law in Japan against forcing women into porn, points out lawyer Kazuko Ito, who is also the general secretary of Human Rights Now. In fact, there is "no government supervision of the industry" at all.
Luckily, Kurumin managed to escape the porn industry, but is now working to try and block the films she starred in from being distributed, however a number of clips have found their way online where they're notoriously difficult to remove.
And the experience still haunts her, along with the x-rated footage. "I had no freedom and nowhere to turn for help. I was trapped," she told The Guardian.
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