THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 6, 2022 at 19:02 JST
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in the capital's Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
An adult video producer who sold unpixelated movies has become the first person arrested on suspicion of violating a new law aimed at protecting young women from shifty pornographers, Tokyo police said Dec. 6.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Takashi Sumiya, 50, who resides in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward, failed to provide cast members with contract documents that specified the sexual activities that they would be recorded doing in the videos.
The Adult Video Appearance Damage Prevention and Relief Law requires producers and distributors of pornographic materials to give performers such documents to explain specifically what they are getting themselves into and what will be recorded.
The law took effect in June after the legal age of adulthood was lowered from 20 to 18 years old.
The legislation is intended to prevent 18- and 19-year-olds from being tricked or coerced into appearing in pornographic productions.
Violators face up to six months in prison, a maximum fine of 1 million yen ($7,300), or both.
According to the MPD, Sumiya failed to hand over the contract documents to three female cast members for each of seven adult videos he produced between August and October.
The three women, in their 20s through 50s, were paid between 40,000 yen and 150,000 yen for appearing in each video. None of them were told that the videos would be unpixelated.
They reportedly said they would not have appeared in the videos if they had known.
Investigators said Sumiya has admitted to the allegations.
Under the Penal Code, distributing or displaying “obscene” materials in public is prohibited.
Pornographers usually pixilate or blur out genitalia to avoid violating the obscenity rule.
Sumiya was indicted on Dec. 2 on charges of publicly displaying obscene objects online.
Police said they suspect Sumiya has sold unpixelated porn videos, in which he appeared, on U.S. website FC2 Content Market, and made around 82 million yen in sales over about six years since 2016.
The seven videos featuring the three women were also sold on the website.
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