Photo/Illutration The Maebashi-Nonaka outlet of the Tone Shoten bookstore chain stands along National Route No. 50 in Maebashi with a signboard that reads “Men’s DVDs.” (Shinichi Koizumi)

MAEBASHI--An adult bookstore chain is helping elderly men take their dirty secrets to the grave by privately disposing of their porn collections.

Operating mainly in the northern Kanto region, Tone Shoten, which also sells sex toys, said it bought nearly 70,000 DVDs in both 2020 and 2021 from men aged at least 65.

Many customers seem to be making end-of-life preparations and have brought in their DVDs without the knowledge of their families, the company said.

Tone Shoten said it started the service on a full-scale in 2015. It accepted online orders from customers to buy their DVDs through pick-up services.

Demand for the service has sharply increased.

Customers can send items in tape-sealed cardboard boxes to eliminate concerns that someone can see the contents inside.

The service also removes the often-awkward face-to-face negotiations between customers and shop clerks on the price for the pornographic titles.

The chain said one regular customer is in his 80s.

Another customer asked the company to dispose of several thousand DVDs before he was admitted to a nursing home.

A man in his 60s said he had been making end-of-life preparations, but he didn’t know what to do with his adult DVDs.

One satisfied customer in his 50s said he needed the service to take care of his porn collection before he moved in with his child’s family.

In November last year, Tone Shoten started a monthlong promotional campaign targeting male senior citizens who were making end-of-life preparations.

The store paid an extra 1,000 yen ($7) to people who brought in at least 10 DVDs for appraisal. They also received an Amazon gift certificate worth 500 yen if they filled out a questionnaire about their concerns and requests for the disposal of adult DVDs.

“We receive inquiries from spouses and family members who say they don’t know what to do with the DVDs left behind by the deceased,” said a public relations representative. “We hope we can reduce the mental burden of bereaved family members because it may involve things too sensitive to be known by anyone else.”

With stay-at-home lifestyles becoming more common during the COVID-19 pandemic, some customers said they wanted to organize their belongings, the representative added.

“We have resold DVDs purchased from customers as secondhand merchandise,” the official said. “It is a form of the (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals in the adult entertainment industry.”

The Tone Shoten chain is operated by Primavera Co., which is based in Ota, Gunma Prefecture.

Its businesses include buying and selling old clothes and jewelry and operating chiropractic clinics and other shops.

The first outlet opened in 1998 on the ruins of a convenience store in the city, with each store equipped with a large signboard that reads “Men’s DVDs starting at 333 yen.”

The 25th outlet opened on Sept. 23 in Ibaraki Prefecture.

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