‘Silver Porn’: In ageing Japan, adult films casting men, women in 60s and 80s are a rage

Japan is ageing and so is its porn industry. With seniors outnumbering the young—one in 10 Japanese is aged 80, some 30% of Japan is aged 65 or above and 18-year-olds are a meagre 1.06 million—senior porn or “silver porn” is clocking an expanding customer- and fanbase. According to report in The Guardian, older people, including women, are debuting in the porn industry in their 60s and 80s. The report cites several examples of women of advanced ages entering the industry not just for pecuniary reasons and growing demand, but also in conscious breach of societal shackles. They are challenging the scenario in Japan when a woman over 50 just ceases to be noticed, as if she never existed. Emi Tōda, as per the report, entered the porn industry in her 50s. She is now, 65, and has featured in several adult productions. If it is some sort of vindication, Shigeo Tokuda, in 2017 entered the Guiness World Records as the world’s olders porn actor at 83. The Guardian report also cites other such examples: 88-year-old Yuko Ogasawara who debuted in adult films in her early 80s; Maori Tezuka, a specialist in grandmother roles, retired in 2017 when she turned 80. As per reports, the Japanese adult film market industry is estimated to be worth nearly ¥55bn annually and employs some 10,000 performers. The report quoted Takuma Kawabe, a producer specialising in adult films featuring mature women, as saying that older consumers still bought movie on DVD since they have purchasing power which meant that the market was there for older people. “The fact that female actors continue to pursue beauty and explore their sexuality even as they get older. Compared to people who were in, say, their 60s when I was a child – my grandparents’ generation – people who are in their 60s now have a much keener sense of beauty and desire for sex,” Kawabe told The Guardian. Tōda, meanwhile, has no plans to retire.