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July 28, 2008
Posted: 249 GMT
TOKYO, Japan – Occasionally as a journalist, you run across a story that leaves you gaping with surprise. Such is the case of my story on Shigeo Tokuda. 73-year-old Tokuda has chosen an unusual way to spend his retirement: starring in more than 200 porn videos. According to Ruby Productions, a company that specializes in adult movies for seniors, elderly porn is a growing genre in the adult video industry and Tokuda is its leading man. I was interested in doing the story because Japan, a nation with the world’s highest percentage of people over the age of 65, was certainly finding an unusual way to meet the demands of its aging society. I’ll begin with his movies, for they’re something that I truly never imagined. He is the star of his movies in every way, romancing his co-stars, no matter their age, no matter their needs. It’s a little like watching your grandfather in a situation you never dared to dream. It is not easy to watch. When we began to edit our story for broadcast on CNN, we had to go through three of his videos the production company gave us permission to air. My editor must have said “eew” a thousand times during our edit. It was a challenge finding appropriate material to air on CNN, so robust were Tokuda’s scenes. One of the DVDs had zero appropriate material. But meeting Tokuda the retiree is very different from watching Tokuda the porn star. Tokuda has been married for 44 years to the same woman (who gives her blessing to his second career) with an adult daughter he loves very much. He’s a polite and humble man, saying he’s glad to have some use in his later years. He said his friends are envious, because he’s valued. Tokuda says, “I don’t know how long I can keep living, but I want to enjoy the rest of it.” People will judge Tokuda for his unusual choice in how he’s living out his retirement. But he is living fully and he seems truly happy. And while I can’t say I admire his work, I can say his drive to be happy is certainly something from which to learn. Posted by: CNN Correspondent, Kyung Lah
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