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ACCOUNTABILITY FOR GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

WHO WE ARE

Human Rights Now is an international human rights NGO based in Tokyo, Japan. Our members comprise over 700 individuals and organizations, including lawyers, scholars, journalists, law firms, former UN officials, retired Japanese Supreme Court Justices, and activists. Human Rights Now works for the promotion and protection of human rights for people in the world, with a special focus on Asia.

Human Rights Now-NY was incorporated in 2019 as a nonprofit charitable organization in New York. HRN-NY shares the same vision and goals with its parent organization Human Rights Now:

"Protection and promotion of human rights for all."

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FEATURED REPORT

Forced Appearances in Adult Pornographic Videos

In Japan, it has been frequently reported that many young women who were scouted as TV personalities or models were tricked or pressured into performing in adult pornographic videos (AV). In many cases, these young women signed agency contracts without knowing what would happen. The victims realized that they would be in a pornographic video only after being sent to a shooting location, and were told that they would have to pay a penalty if they refused the work.

Forced appearances in AV cause serious damage to victims, including physical and psychological harms. Not only are the victims forced to have “sexual intercourse” in the name of contract, but there is not currently any effective legal system other than the cancellation right for minors. Therefore, once the video is released, it continues to spread indefinitely on the internet and causes suffering to women for a significant amount of time. As a result, the victims often suffer from PTSD, or in some cases, commit suicide.