Ever wondered why there are so many pixelated nudity in Japan? Well, thanks to yet another effort made by 2ch and its fame, we will finally know.
The Japanese censorship body has always been on a strict benchmark when it comes down to the human genitalia (not sure of the nonhuman), and has thus been issued for many ways of censoring, thus explaining why so much heavy abuse of blur effect and even mosaic is used through out many of the legendary adult movies which none other than Japan could have produced.
The censorship body takes it so far that even the nether part cannot be shown for education or art related reasons, on the other hand, whilst it is true that pubic hair used to be treated the same way, it is not anymore and is perfectly viewable.
The punishment for trying to even the slightest avoid this will and has ended up in harsh punishments from the legal force involving large fines and of course imprisonment, all of these in the name of ethical foundation which would drive the country towards a healthy lifestyle and not an “unhealthy” one.
Publishers are by choice allowed to think twice before releasing their content before it has been through a checkup for the green go light for a minimal fee for each release to prevent any misses in the project.
Though, luckily there still are the braver publishers out there which go by the law as much as any other, but does it by challenging the system by drastically altering the blur or mosaic censoring to it’s boundaries, and even those who cold heartedly deny the existence of the system altogether. These type of videos where no censor is available are often referred as to “ura-video”. But, of course this also ensures that the stakes are even higher of getting an arrest.
Down below we see the latest episode of “Interviewing with 2ch”. It would seem they have yet again been given the pleasure of seeking a better understanding of the world, and this time, it is about the censorship body which is supposed to uphold the ethical values of society.
I worked for an adult video inspection foundation, any questions?
I’ll answer anything I can.
What percent are really “nakadashi”? [literally "coming inside," a genre of porn concerned with the unnatural practice of depositing semen in a woman's vagina rather than on her face accompanied by much overwrought groaning. Naturally under a heavy mosaic whether this ever really occurs is a matter of some doubt.]
I couldn’t give a good figure. The ones we inspected were all already censored and doctored up so it’s impossible to tell. From what the makers say not many are really doing it though. Sorry I can’t give a better answer.
So you were inspecting them? Tell us what you dropped.
I never dropped one.
The makers know what the standards are and would come to us in advance of making it if they had doubts.
There are times I had them cut or censor stuff. For example, when a actress was being interviewed walking along the street with a school in the background a little bit.
For the action, there were of course lots of times we warned people about the mosaic, but there were a lot of times it was other stuff.
You damn liar – the only people who work in those places are retired policemen.
I don’t know where it originates but I heard that tale too at work. But I’m no cop.
Did you onanise whilst watching them? Were you actually paid money?
For the ones I really liked I sometimes snuck off to the toilet… but after a while I was pyschologically numbed and no longer responded. The wages were a monthly salary paid by bank transfer.
Did you test to see whether people could “use” the material properly?
We didn’t consider that. If we did we’d be looking at the works “hedonically” rather than “ethically.”
Whether anyone could get off on it was a matter left to the makers to decide.
Of course, watching them you would think “this has no chance” from time to time.
How on earth did you get that job? You a regular company employee, a staff member of the foundation or what?
I saw an ad online and applied. At first I thought “is there really a job like this and are they really recruiting online?”
It’s not a company, but a government authorised foundation [a quango in other words]. That’s why I put “foundation” and not “company” in the thread title.
It’s supposed to impartial as it’s not run for a profit like a company. But in reality it rather less than impartial and is bound up with all kinds of interests.
Do they receive a lot of “amakudari” police officers?
["amakudari," literally "descent from heaven," is a long standing Japanese tradition of retiring civil servants being offered top posts, often virtual sinecures, in the industries they once oversaw. Of course, there is no possibility of the prospect of such a lucrative position being offered influencing the behaviour of civil servants whilst in office.]
I saw online that one foundation had apparently done that. I have no personal experience of it though. There weren’t any cops when I was doing it, but it wasn’t a very big outfit…
Any interesting dodgy stories?
Not really.
I had one time when I was on the phone with the maker (a woman) and she was shouting out the titles of the films to her coworkers with her like it was nothing.
Me: “Amateurs Coming Inside” has passed OK.
Her: “AMATEURS COMING INSIDE HAS PASSED!”
Me: “Chikan Paradise had two scenes which were no good.”
Her: “CHIKAN PARADISE IS OUT!”
Our office was normally pretty quiet. Filming is all at the maker’s end so I have no stories about that. Sorry.
How many did you do in a day? What are the criteria?
We’d do 2 hour films twice a day. A 4 hour piece would be once a day, and sometimes we’d do 3 a day if busy.
There’s basically a manual for the criteria.
But the manual is nothing but “if this is in the film is absolutely not allowed.” For example, drugs, copyrighted characters or religious issues. Other stuff we’d talk over with the makers.
For example we had a film with a bunch of guys gang-raping a woman whilst taking pics with a mobile. The mobile was on screen and we reported it as a violation as, although a normal person might not notice, the maker of the phone might well object.
How much did you get?
Basic salary was ¥180,000 monthly ($2,000). With overtime it was 180,000-220,000. By the way, I’m in my twenties.
[This is a middling salary by Japanese standards, though perhaps high for a young man with no particular education or skills other than porn watching.]
You could live alright on that in an OK city area. Any extras or benefits?
Yes, it’s alright isn’t it? I don’t regret quitting but I do regret losing the wages a bit.
Two bonuses a year and an annual raise. Also overtime and commuter expense payments, a variety of insurance. No different from a salary man, though with no severance package.
But the raise and bonus amounts made me worry about my future. You don’t learn any skills, you’re just watching videos, and there’s no way you can really ask for money on account of having improved your skills.
Do the porn makers pay a fee?
Yes, we’d bill them for each inspection.
Did you do gay porn?
Not at my place. Each maker has a particular foundation for their stuff so I expect there’s one for gay porn.
But I think extreme stuff like gay porn and scat is mostly voluntary restraint.
What are you doing now?
Part time work with nothing to do with AV. Aside from the money I don’t regret it.
Why’d you quit?
Basically:
I was worried about my future.
I had doubts about the neutrality of the foundation.
Aside from the skill issue, I was always thinking “why am I doing this?” when I was doing it… not good for you psychologically. Especially with the raise situation.
As to the other issue, the initial capital for the foundation is provided by the members, i.e. the companies making the porn and submitting it to us. So there were times when things got a little unclear if we were told to do stuff by the members, even if we were said to be neutral. I really found that objectionable.
Maybe the others are different, I don’t know.
Some guys got busted for this stuff, didn’t they?
2 years ago, yes.
There were shady types there even when I was there. All jobs have their minuses but in this case I really wouldn’t want to recommend this industry to anybody.
Can you recommend any porn stars or titles?
I can’t mention titles, but Kirara Kurogawa and Mihono Tsukimoto are recommended.
There’s a film called BANQUISH 46 which has uncensored paipan for a few seconds – is that OK?
I’ve not seen it, but if true it’s a major issue and grounds for instant recall. Maybe the foundation doing that inspection was a bit green…
What’s the worst thing you’ve seen?
In one title I can’t name there was a drama scene with a PS2 where you could clearly see them playing a certain famous RPG and hear the music – how that got past their editors I don’t know.
What’s the office like? Do you still find AV exciting?
It’s laid out with small partitions but you can see what’s on other people’s screens if you turn around. Headphones were used.
When I was doing it I couldn’t get off on AV easily. Everyone was like that, and for those with the mental fortitude to survive it, there’s much better work around I think.
Everyone’s just sat there guiltily watching that stuff? It sounds an awfully gloomy place…
Not so much guiltily as unfulfilledly. It’s hard to be satisfied just watching the same stuff all day over and over with no job prospects or skills to improve. It wasn’t glomy but there was no real energy there.
Also, just passing the inspection doesn’t actually make the title legal – the cops can still take action if there’s stuff they have issues with so what you’re doing is basically meaningless.
I stopped associating with the guys from my time there too.
I’m sorry to be so negative, but if you really want to try it then good for you, but I think there’s probably better stuff out there for anyone like that.
Why are the men in Japanese porn nothing but ugly freaks. They’re always fat bald little creeps, isn’t a hot guy and girl a better combo?
A lot of people say this.
At the extreme you have guys absolutely everyone finds disgusting but most are average. Probably keeping them short is better for matching them to the female performers, maybe.
Like always, an eye-opening interview.
