Mags with seals move more gals to peel
In order to safeguard minors from printed matter containing nudity, violence and other adult contents, local governments in Japan have begun to oblige magazine publishers to affix a seal preventing their magazines from being opened while on the newsstand.
“Since the new ordinance in Tokyo went into effect from July 2004, these seals have been affixed to over 170 different magazines each month,” a publishing industry source tells Shukan Taishu (12/12).
The seals, made of transparent tape that measures about 3cm in diameter, can be removed by the purchaser without damaging the magazine, but prevent browsing inside the store. Some customers apparently peel them off for a look-see anyway — they are easy enough to remove — leading to calls by some for even more drastic solutions (like two seals instead of one).
While the debate continues to rage over the pros and cons of censorship, Shukan Taishu has noticed a peculiar development.
“Since the seal regulations went into effect, there’s been a sharp increase in the level of quality the young women who model for the nude ‘gravure’ (glossy color photos) that appear at the front and back sections of the magazines,” says Yukio Murakami, an authority on the sex business. “There are more amateurs who project a fresh and innocent image. They’re young and cute, and seem willing and eager to bare their all for the cameras.”
The publisher of an unnamed magazine featuring female nudity says that the portfolios of photos offered by modeling agencies are full of juicy delights, and — not coincidentally — these offerings took a big jump right after the magazines were obliged to start applying the seals.
Apparently many girls willing to pose in the buff have held back until recently, out of fear that their father or boyfriend might inadvertently see their photos while browsing in a convenience store or bookshop. But now that the magazines are sealed, these concerns have diminished; and so has their modesty.
Apparently posing nude is an excellent source of pocket money.
“In my case, a photographer stopped me on the street and propositioned me,” relates Yuka, a 20-year-old nursing student. “When he told me what the rates were for posing, I felt like I’d won the lottery. But at first I was hesitant because he told me my pics would appear a magazine sold in convenience stores, and I didn’t want to risk being recognized.
“Then he told me about the mags were being sealed shut to discourage browsers, so there was nothing to worry about, and took me straight to a convenience store to show me. I hadn’t known about this regulation and after considering the money involved, decided to go all the way,” she giggles.
As word has spread regarding the seals, other amateur models are coming out of the woodwork for the opportunity to prance before cameras in their birthday suits. And not all of them are young.
“We’ve been getting more and more approaches from married women in their 30s and 40s offering to pose,” Mr. H., the editor of an unnamed monthly magazine tells Shukan Taishu. “In their case, the main motivation seems to be less that of money than the desire to be ‘recognized as a woman.’”
“I think it’s because wives usually know which magazines their hubbies bring home to read,” H explains. “So as long as their hubbies won’t see them while browsing at the store, they aren’t too worried about being discovered. For them, exciting male readers with their nude photos may represent the ultimate thrill.
“To get our attention, some of their letters come with self-shot photos of the women in positions to suggest they are masturbating,” H adds.
It’s a fitting comment on the loose morals of today’s women sighs Shukan Taishu: the more the authorities clamp down on magazine browsing, the more fervently these females flock to flash their flesh.
(By Masuo Kamiyama, People’s Pick contributor)
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