One of Japan’s Biggest Problems You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Before you read further down, I want you to look at the following pictures. What’s your impression of them?

What did you think? Still can’t figure it out? Well, here are some facts about these pictures. The yongest girl here is 5 and the oldest is 17. All of these pictures were taken with the parent’s consent. Except for the underage poledancer, all of these were taken for the gravure industry, a multimillion dollar, female-only industry in Japan.

In Japan, the gravure industry is a form of entertainment that features young, often underage girls in provocative poses, wearing bikinis or other revealing clothing. While this industry has been around for decades, it has recently come under the eye of international organizations for exploiting minors and contributing to a broader problem of underage sexualization in Japanese culture. The problem? The Japanese government doesn’t care and a lot of people consider this normal in Japan.

One of the main issues with gravure is that it blurs the line between innocent modeling and sexual objectification. The girls involved in gravure are often very young, sometimes as young as 3, and are presented in a way that is meant to be sexually appealing to adult men. This is particularly troubling given Japan's high rate of child sexual exploitation, which has been fueled in part by the country's lax laws and attitudes towards underage sex.

Another problem with gravure is that it is often a stepping stone to more explicit forms of adult entertainment, such as pornography. Many young girls who start out doing gravure end up being pressured into doing more explicit work, or are lured into the sex industry by unscrupulous producers and agents. Not to mention that once they reach adulthood, pictures that were taken whle they were underage are often featured in porn magazines.

To combat this problem, there have been calls for tighter regulations on the gravure industry, including stricter age limits and more stringent requirements for parental consent. Some have also called for a broader cultural shift in Japan towards a more healthy and respectful attitude towards sexuality and children, which, if you ask me, should be the primary focus.

Ultimately, the problem of underage gravure is just one symptom of a much larger issue in Japanese society. Until attitudes towards sex and children change, it will be difficult to fully address the problem of child exploitation and abuse in Japan.