This article is an English translation of my article published by FRaU magazine on Aug. 18th, 2023.

https://gendai.media/articles/-/114942

 
On August 14, DJ SODA, a famous female DJ from South Korea, caused quite a stir when she posted on X (formerly Twitter) that she was a victim of molestation, "chikan" at the Japanese music festival "MUSIC CIRCUS'23.
 
In response to DJ SODA's post in which she confessed that she was "scared," she received many comments accusing her of wrongdoing, including "It was wrong to dress like that" and "You were too close to the audience." One even quoted a video she had posted in the past of a performance in another country (showing a man's hand supporting her upper body from behind) to give the impression that this kind of thing happens all the time to her in other countries, too.
 
DJ SODA posted that this man supporting her from behind was a bodyguard, but the quoted post received over 20,000 likes, symbolizing the lack of awareness of what constitutes sexual assault in Japan.
 
In Japan, more often than not, the phenomena of slut-shaming occur, which criticizes the victim as if the victim, not the perpetrator, was at fault, even though the victim herself claims that it was a sexual crime with visual evidence of the violation. There were many angry posts on X, and words such as "shameful to Japan" and "Japan, a molestation powerhouse" were trending for a while.
 
Daddy, what does "hentai" mean?
The other day, a Japanese friend who lives in Florida told me this story when he visited Japan on a business trip. He has been in the US for more than 30 years and is married to an American woman. They have two daughters, ages 13 and 9.
 
He said, "My younger daughter (9 years old) asked me, 'Daddy, what does hentai mean?'".
 
"Hentai" literally means "pervert" in Japanese; however, it is a slang term for Japanese adult-oriented manga and anime in English-speaking countries. He also said, "I'm staying at a regular hotel in Shinagawa right now, and I'm shocked to see all these couples of middle-aged men and women who look like they're young enough to be minors. I think it's called "Papa katsu (daddy activities; slang for older men buying a younger woman," but what is that? Isn't that illegal?
 
“Where is this country headed?” he asked. Lately, around me in the US, Japan has been portrayed as a country of perverts, male chauvinism, and pedophilia, and I'm worried about how my daughters, who have Japanese names, will be treated in the future.”
 
When I mentioned this to a male European researcher living in Japan for over 15 years, he answered: "I think there are two opposing stereotypes of Japanese women today: 'sex-loving' and 'male-submissive.'
 
For example, my friends from overseas often ask me this when they come to Japan.
 
'Is it true that Japanese women are submissive to men like you see in Japanese pornography, but they love sex?' Or, "In Japan, there are places where you can do all kinds of perverted things, like breast milk bars and molestation trains, right?" And so on. They are ordinary guys who have proper professional careers. They know about the Japanese sex industry from porn and the news and ask me these questions. But, to their surprise, there are all kinds of crazy sex stores in Japan, just like they want!"
 
 
"Hentai" is the most searched word on the world's largest porn site, Pornhub.
In recent years, "hentai" has become a globally accepted term. Take, for example, the "The 2022 Year in Review" ranking published by Pornhub, one of the world's largest porn sites. The site's annual report on the most popular trends, terms, searches, etc., shows that "hentai" and "Japanese" are the first and second most searched terms in 2022.
 
Most searched terms in 2022
 
No.1......hentai
No.2......Japanese
No.3......milf
No.4......lesbian
No.5......Pinay
No.6......Asian
No.7...... stepmom
No.8......anal
No.9......big ass
No.10......threesome
 
Looking at the top 10, the only "nationalities" ranked are "Japanese" (No. 2) and "Pinay" (No. 5), while "race" (Asian) ranked at No. 6; no other nationality or race is found in the top 10.
 
When we checked the top 10, we found that the number one traffic source was the US, far ahead of the UK in second place, France in third, and Japan in fourth. About six times more Americans view Pornhub than the Japanese. It means that many non-Japanese are searching for "hentai" and "Japanese.
 
Interestingly, not a single Japanese name appears in the top 20 rankings of popular porn stars. What does this mean (by the way, only actresses ranked among the popular porn stars)? It may be that Japanese names are difficult to remember or that Japanese became a "genre" rather than "individuals."
 
Japanese porn culture must be the source that "hentai" becoming a global term and "Japanese" becoming a popular genre of pornography.
 
"Chikan" has also become a common word in Asian countries.
Although it was not included in the previous ranking, "chikan" is one of the popular genres of pornography and is exported worldwide, making the word "chikan" common in Asian countries as well.
 
The often-quoted "Japan has fewer sex crimes than other countries" is untrue.
 
According to a 2010 survey by the National Police Agency, 90% of molestation victims did not report or consult with the police and instead cried themselves to sleep.
 
The situation in Japan, a "chikan paradise," is well known worldwide, and the British and Canadian governments have warned travelers to Japan on their official websites that "inappropriate physical contact" may occur.
 
 
On June 8, 2023, BBC News Japan reported that a Chinese criminal group living in Tokyo is molesting Japanese women and making content out of it in an article titled "Uncovering behind the scenes of a website selling molestation videos: ...... The article reports the shocking fact that a Chinese criminal group living in Tokyo is molesting Japanese women and making content out of it.
 
The article is a report by the BBC reporting team on a group of criminals who video molesters and sell the videos on Chinese black-market websites. This website users exchange tips and advice on how to assault women sexually. The sexual violence women suffer is spread on the Internet, creating secondary damage (or second rape?) that will never disappear.
 
The chikan genre of pornography exported to the world triggers real crimes, and the real crimes are recorded into video content and distributed worldwide. As a result, the stereotype reinforcing that Japanese people are perverts(hentai) and Japanese women are submissive and sex-loving creates new real crimes. Isn't this a frightening loop of sexual exploitation?
 
 
Sexual exploitation of women in Japan that I noticed after returning to Japan.
I spent my teenage years through my thirties in the US and returned to Japan 15 years ago. I find it disgusting that there are representations of women as sexualized objects in every corner of train stations in Japan, and I am concerned that this may harm children.
 
When I turn on the TV, I see older men surrounded by young female celebrities and news reporters. Anime girl characters with huge breasts and hips become public posters for blood donation. At baseball stadiums, young female beer girls in miniskirts and shorts pour drinks for middle-aged men (there are no beer girls in the US, the home of baseball. Usually, the strong-looking middle-aged men carry the heavy beer servers.)
 
If you grow up in Japan, where unconscious bias that "women's greatest value is sexual attraction," "women deserve to be sexually objectified," and "men deserve to be cared for by women" are imprinted, such values make not only men but also women perpetrators.
 
In DJ SODA's case, one of the assailants was also a woman. In the post, DJ SODA revealed that the woman touched her breasts the most strongly. In Japanese late-night TV shows, female comedians or actors used to touch the breasts of other females to satisfy the desires of male performers and viewers. Female viewers exposed to such TV shows absorb the same mindset as men.
 
Touching another person's body without consent can be considered sexual assault, regardless of gender.
 
 
The Need for Inclusive Sex Education
In many developed countries, inclusive sex education now teaches people to draw clear "boundaries" between themselves and others, not to allow others to cross those boundaries, and to respect personal space. Inclusive sex education includes learning not only about the body and sexuality but also about respect for human rights, including gender equality, sexual diversity, and individual well-being.
 
While there are few contraceptive options (No contraceptive shots, stickers, and implants) and after pills are only available for prescriptions, sexual content that simulates sex crimes is mass-produced and exported worldwide under the banner of "freedom of expression." We need to be more aware of the danger behind the fact that "chikan" and "hentai" have become international words.
 
DJ SODA has courageously raised her voice against chikan. On August 15, the festival organizer stated that what happened to DJ SODA was "sexual violence" and "sexual crime," expressing their intention to identify the culprit and take civil and criminal legal action.
 
While there is no quick fix or panacea to eliminate exploitation and sexual objectification in Japan and other countries, education about what constitutes abuse in secondary school may help mitigate some of the frequently reported abuses.

A public debate about Japan's porn industry's negative consequences on domestic and international consumers also needs to occur.