Japanese Porn Industry Hit by Shortage of Men

[Nutso]

http://www.newsnish.com/entertainment/j ... ge-of-men/

Only about 70 male actors to 10,000 women; $20 bn porn industry under threat

TOKYO For a man carrying a nation’s libido on his shoulders, Japanese “porn king Shimiken” looks as fresh as a daisy. The 35-year-old cult hero, described by one director as the Cristiano Ronaldo of sex and famed for his Herculean powers between the sheets, grins as he tells AFP, “It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it.”

Shimiken — real name Ken Shimizu — has slept with more than 8,000 women for his 7,500 movies, and recently caused a stir by begging for reinforcements, tweeting that there were more Bengali tigers alive than male porn actors in Japan. “There are about 70 male actors to 10,000 women,” he said. Shimiken’s call to arms was retweeted thousands of times by fans worried about Japan’s $20 billion adult video industry coming under threat. “It is boring for viewers to watch the same actors all the time. That’s the biggest worry,” he added.

Shimiken insisted he has the staying power to keep on going, despite making an eye-popping two to three films in an average day. “Usually I sleep with two or three girls a day, so I have sex for about two hours every day,” he chirped. “It’s my dream job — I’ve been doing this for 17 years and I never get bored of it. It beats working in an office. I’ll do this until I’m 100.”

He may have to, if the decline in male actors continues. Many industry insiders blame the conundrum on a growing social trend known as herbivore men: Those who shun sex and traditional masculine values in favour of a quiet, uncompetitive lifestyle. “Mentally, men have become weaker,” said actress Yuko Shiraki. “They’re less macho, less proactive about sex.”

Celebrated director Tohjiro agrees Japanese men are going soft. “I’ve been in this business for 27 years and you can see the increase in herbivore males,” he said. “Men aren’t hungry anymore. They’ve lost their desire. Everything’s on a plate for them. It wasn’t like that for my generation. If we got a banana or a pineapple, we went crazy with joy. These days, men don’t get excited by anything. The same applies to sex and attitude towards women and relationships. They just click on the internet for it.”

[IanKennedy]

OK, then. That's novel. I'm especially interested in the idea of "herbivore men". Do they mean vegetarians, it seems more than that.

[McAvoy]

'Herbivore' men. Weird term for men who are shy about having sex.

[Jim]

I'll give my two weeks at work tomorrow...

[Mikey]

'Herbivore' men. Weird term for men who are shy about having sex.

Especially considering that it's from a country that's almost exclusively pescivore, rather than carnivore.

[McAvoy]

It's also weird because aside from Germany they have the weirdest porn out there.

'I wanna see a big titty girl get butt fucked by a tentacle demon girl while being pile drived by a big dicked half female/half shemale girl and she loves it.'

But gotta blur out the naughty bits on real girls and guys.

On the other hand maybe they have issues looking for a well endowed Japanese guy?

[Mikey]

They have vending machines for used panties. I can't even muster the desire to look for rationale in anything about this topic. Japan - the world capital of "WTF?!"

[Coalition]

Isn't Japan famous for making a robot for anything? Tell the engineers to get to work!

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Isn't Japan famous for making a robot for anything? Tell the engineers to get to work!

Might not be an option.

Yes, it's a call for a ban on sexbots.

[McAvoy]

I just saw that today on Facebook.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

I just saw that today on Facebook.

Yup. Looks like mechanization might not be an option, here.

[sunnyside]

On the other hand maybe they have issues looking for a well endowed Japanese guy?

That was my first thought. Although maybe less endowed actors who aren't so physically fit or tall would make viewers feel better about themselves?

Although I wonder if the pay for the guy is crap.

The Herbivor men this is probably just another variant on some of the social trends that have been going on in Japan for a while. They've got other terms like Hikikomori and
Freeter.

Although this is a trend through the western world to varying degrees. I think NEET comes from the UK (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). And in the US the MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) thing is taking off alongside pick up artists and other red pill/MRA esq subcultures. And there are plenty of kids living in their parents basements and playing video games after college. More than a few of my colleagues have that going on with their children.

To an extent I can see the concept. Most stuff classified under "being a man" implies some form hard work or self sacrifice and doing so without any complaining. But the historical advantages of holding up your end of that social contact are increasingly being eliminated.