"It was like rape": Women in Japan tricked into pornography

An increasing number of women in Japan are reporting they have been coerced into acting in pornographic photographs and films.

Conmen promising fortune and fame trick young women into signing modelling contracts, then later threaten them if they do not do what they ask.

Kurumin Aroma, 27, was one of them.

She dreamt of one day becoming a TV star or a musician.

When she was approached on the streets of Tokyo by a man who offered to give her a start in modelling, she thought she would take a chance.

"I was half doubting, but he was a good listener, had a proper-looking business card and said he had a record of making people famous. So I got an impression that he was a good person," she said.

She was taken to meet the president of the company, who also promised her a big future.

Kurumin was initially pleased with the "glamour" photos they took and was waiting for the phone to ring with offers of modelling jobs.

But she said that from that point, the relationship with the men at the company changed.

"They suddenly started to say 'this girl can do nude shoots' during the interview," she said.

"I thought, 'I haven't heard anything about that', but they went ahead talking about doing it in the nude and it all started there."

'I'll do it even if it kills me'

She said the men forced her to agree to nude pictures and then to appear in pornographic videos.

"It was like rape. I was forced to do it even though I didn't want to do it," she said.

But like many others, she felt ashamed that she had become involved at all, and could not bring herself to tell her friends or parents.

They told her she was under a contract that could not be broken without her paying a huge fee.

"Sometimes I was surrounded by more than 10 men — that's not what I wanted to do, so I cried and felt scared," she said.

"I felt threatened, but I was all by myself and I had to do it. I was scared about what they'd say to me if I quit midway so I thought 'I'll do it even if it kills me'."

She is speaking out about her experience and hopes other young women will be more wary about the dangers if they are approached by a scout.

'The tip of the iceberg'

Police in Tokyo's Harajuku district said they had received reports from other young women whose experiences are similar.

They are currently handing out flyers on the streets to warn would-be victims.

A lobby group working in the area has also noticed a spike in the number of women who have come to them for help.

"We have been receiving calls and emails from many new victims. Last year we received 100 new clients," said Aiki Segawa from the not-for-profit organisation Lighthouse, which aims to stop human trafficking of any kind.

But she said there are many more who feel too embarrassed and ashamed to come forward and report what has happened.

"I think it's still the tip of the iceberg," she said.

She said while awareness about the issue is crucial, cracking down on the perpetrators is far more important.

The Japanese Government is moving to change the statutes, to create new crimes for people who force or coerce others to become involved in pornography.

Ms Segawa said arresting and charging people in the companies producing pornography will have an impact.

"That's the only way to show that it's actually a crime," Ms Segawa said.