THE Year of the Boar keeps charging on, dragging me at breakneck pace, through ever more outlandish and unbelievable events and experiences -- and towards an exponentially expanding income. Today, for example, I earnt $150 for making my first appearance in a PORNOGRAPHIC MOVIE. Some 2.5 months after my bruising encounter with the Japanese criminal justice complex, which saw me join a rather exclusive club (the club of dudes who have done time), today I joined another perhaps even more exclusive club -- the club of studs who have starred in a porno. Interestingly enough, I didn't even take my clothes off, or do anything more erotic, than hold some pornstar's hand (and try to rub her hand against my leg.) So from one point of view I must be the biggest loser in the world, to star in a porno and not even get laid! But I am a gradualist and I think today was just a trial run and I have no doubt I will doing the real thing (in real time!) soon enough. One of the first things the guy said when he picked me up at the train station, to take me to the porn shoot, was: "Can you do sex next time?" I replied: "I'll try my best. But I have to warn you, I am not particularly well endowed." And he said: "That's okay, this is Japan -- the size of your dick doesn't matter here..."
If you haven't worked it out already Tokyo is the porn capital of the world: this is an old document, but a good one ("A Star is Porn"): "In Tokyo, over 11 AV or "Adult Videos" are made every day, all year round. Over 4,200 videos passed the censor in Ginza last year, most approved on the second try. That��s only the legal part of the business. There is also an unknown number of so-called ura videos which bypass the censor and sell under the counter.
AV is, in short, a significant industry. The market for pornographic videos is worth Y400 billion annually, accounting for around 30 percent of the country��s video rentals. Between 70 and 100 production companies operate in Tokyo (nobody is certain of the exact number), some fly-by-night, others well-established companies with a large staff.
The budget can be as generous as Y20 million, or as meager as 600,000. A typic31 production costs Y5 million and takes ten days to put together, of which two are fir shooting and one for taking still photographs. The stills are vital; the videocassette cover more than anything, except a well-known star, sells the video��and the production company usually has to move at least 1,000 copies to make a profit.
After the recent bankruptcy of AV's largest production company, Diamond Visual, run by porn innovator Toru Muranishi, some observers believe the industry might be falling victim to its own profligacy. In a swamped market, some videos are selling less than half their break-even mark. The number of video rental shops nationwide has almost halved in recent years, with many surviving outlets shutting their "adult corners" in favor of "family viewing." And aggressive wholesalers now demand��and usually get��up to 60 percent discount on video prices from producers.
Ever see those suspicious looking young guys in suits in places like Shibuya, touting young women as they walk down the street -- some of those guys could be porn scouts? As A Star is Porn goes on to say: "Most careers start on the streets. Shibuya, Shinjuku and Roppongi are the hunting grounds where talent scouts prowl for young, single women, preferably those who look like new arrivals. The ruses are legion. Some scouts flatter and lie, or tempt with glittering TV and modeling jobs. Others lire more straightforward. Usually the scout receives \100,000 for introducing women to managers, the personal agents in the AV world. Some do apply directly to a production company, but it will usually refer the woman to an agent. Companies like to distance themselves from potential problems."
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