How to create your own AV studio and become the director/actor in Japan?

[Veltiel]

Ok, this is purely hypothethical. First let's assume I have a budget of at least $300,000 USD. Yes, I'm a gaijin, a mexican gaijin. And I know that before residing in Japan I have either to be married with a japanese woman or lived at least 10 years in there. But let's say that In one of my stays I decide to start a small AV business.
Let's also say I stay a couple of months in Japan, and I use that time to get lawyers, business contacts, AV veterans to guide me in the industry, and most important, sexy and cute AV actresses. My questions are:

How do foreigners rent or purchase small offices in Japan?

Can I appoint someone of trust in my absence, to run the business?

What is the proper process for a foreigner, to have this kind of business in Japan, without being a citizen?

What is the minimum budget for a really small studio? Would $300,000 - $500,000 USD be enough?

How much will it cost to hire some cute japanese girls? Would $10,000 - $30,000 USD be enough per video?

Can I convince some AV directors or ex veterans to guide me through? (Of course, by paying them)

As I said, if I can't be the legal "owner" because of some laws, then I can at least partially own the business while appointing someone trustworthy in my absence as the CEO, and most importantly, if my team do manages to hire some AV actresses, of course I'll appoint myself as both actor and director. Considering I'd have money, I'd pay the actresses to make some scenes with me a good sum of money so they can't refuse XD

But if this even possible? It'd be a bussiness where I'll be present some months and absent some others due to the citizenship issue. What do you guys think?

 

[M1N0RA]

No.


And the kind of people who have the entrepeneurship vision to make something like this happen, don't post about it online. They just go ahead and do it, often putting what little they might have on the line.
I don't want to be rude, but it seems like what you really want is to hire the services of a former AV actress (soapland, night clubs, etc.) and have some fun. That might be the path to follow instead.

 

[Casshern2]

At first glance at the thread title I thought Muzz changed his avatar.

Even if we're just talking having fun with former AV actresses, would there be a path for this realistically given the circumstances he mentioned?

 

[Veltiel]

Or shall I have asked: Are there foreign directors/businessmen in the AV industry? I mean, clearly there's no way I'm the first one thinking of this. Someone in the late 90s, the 2000s or 2010s must've thought the same. Perhaps some western porn director, perhaps a fancy and cocky businessman with enough money. If there has been already one foreigner that did this, there must be a way.

 

[Casshern2]

If we can't find any there aren't any. I've not seen any touted on DMM or other sites. Even the directors with western names like Marlow, I just assumed they were Japanese. Otherwise this would be a thing.

I'd recommend you try to get some starlet to travel outside of Japan for what you're after?

And enough money doesn't factor into Japanese laws or the willingness of their citizens It's an uphill battle I would think.

 

[kharo88]

I have no idea about any of this, but maybe you don't have to have the studio in Japan. Perhaps it would be better to establish it in a nearby country where it's no hassle to do it and you could fly the girls out there. I don't know how willing they would be to go to a different country and to a new studio… not likely at all, but it seems like setting up a studio in Japan as a foreigner is nearly impossible. So, Vladivostok is pretty close...

 

[Veltiel]

Well, in the last few years there was a flourishing of porn studios in Mexico, and yes, with 100% Mexican porn actresses. I've seen how (some) USA studios even went to hire and fly some of the girls over there. I was also seeing the possibility of flying the japanese girls to say.... A place like Thailand? Taiwan? Hong Kong? Yes, Vladivostok is close, but if the recording is made indoors, in a very discret hotel, I don't see a problem. Now convincing them and paying their flights and visa procedures are another challenge.

AV studios also had foreign exchanges, like Angela White. So why not the other way around. I feel like japanese girls would feel safer if the flew to Taiwan or even the USA, due to their tourist curiosity.

 

[Inertia]

Start shooting in your own country to get experience and also sell on your own too. THEN consider AV. There's many more hurdles compared to the west. Way more complicated to get something on DMM than it is to get your own site up or get your stuff on ManyVids or something.

 

[darksider59]

but if the recording is made indoors, in a very discret hotel, I don't see a problem. Now convincing them and paying their flights and visa procedures are another challenge.

Gotta be an empty hotel or a place that know what you're doing. I can't imagine a porn shoot in an packed hotel (I'm not talking about a love hotel). There would be complains for sure (at least, if I'm next to the room and I can hear what's going on, I would tell them to shut the fuck up because people are here to relax).

Also, for foreigners, there is a Investor visa you can get for 50000$ or something like that (so you have a project in the country).

Nowadays, JAV actresses wouldn't get any benefit from shooting overseas. Their fans are mostly japanese, so they don't care about seeing their favorite actresses with foreign dudes. It's expensive, as you need to buy plane tickets, hotel rooms, and all those things for the japanese crew. And, not sure about that, but I think there is more money to make in JAV than western porn (gonzo is very cheap and quick to produce unlike JAV movies).

 

[kharo88]

(at least, if I'm next to the room and I can hear what's going on, I would tell them to shut the fuck up because people are here to relax).

As you can hear by the sounds they're already relaxing, so how about you shut the fuck up?

But on topic, Inertia is right, if you had an established studio with a catalogue of completed works to show and a couple years in business I'm sure it would be easier to convince JAV stars to work with you.

 

[crazykiss]

You can take a case of studio Japornxxx (www.japornxxx.com) for reference.

As I know, this studio is especially focus on the interracial sex category, which most of the scenes was between a Japanese girl and a white guy.

80% of their porn actress was JAV idol, included some well-known girl, such as: Nana Kamiyama (which alias in this studio is: Mina Asahi), Rena Fukiishi (whish alias in this studio is: Mio Shidou), Nanako Asahina, Anri Tachibana, Mona Hayami (which alias in this studio is: Mio Katsuki)... All was uncensored category.

Beside this, they signed contract with all actress. I realize this issue, because of the proof: most of JAV actress of this studio change their name when filmed with them, and all have different Twitter accounts to marketing for their productions.

So I guess this studio is a professional manufacturer, which based and filmed on Japan. Maybe it's a illegal one (like 1pondo & Caribbeancom), owned by a white business man or a collaboration between him and a Japanese agent.

I have a quite interested in this studio recently, so I'm researching about it. But it seems there're not much informations.

 

[darksider59]

As you can hear by the sounds they're already relaxing, so how about you shut the fuck up?

So I kick the actor out and I take his place.

 

[lavicia]

I was reading the other day that most brothels (and even some restaurants) won't even serve gaijin so I would think as a foreigner the chances of you getting access to AV idols, their agents, a film crew etc would be infinitesimal.

 

[darksider59]

I was reading the other day that most brothels (and even some restaurants) won't even serve gaijin so I would think as a foreigner the chances of you getting access to AV idols, their agents, a film crew etc would be infinitesimal.

About restaurants, some won't serve gaijin and have a sign at the front door. Most of them isn't racism, more like they can't speak english and don't want to experience communication issues with clients. Sure, some of them might be racist, but it's not the majority.
For brothels, it's roughly the same thing. How the gaijin is supposed to communicate with the girl if he can't speak japanese ? Everything is written in japanese so it would only lead to awkward situations. It's the same in every country. In my country, foreigners don't use french escort or hooker services if they can't speak the language.

 

[M1N0RA]

About restaurants, some won't serve gaijin and have a sign at the front door. Most of them isn't racism, more like they can't speak english and don't want to experience communication issues with clients. Sure, some of them might be racist, but it's not the majority.
For brothels, it's roughly the same thing. How the gaijin is supposed to communicate with the girl if he can't speak japanese ? Everything is written in japanese so it would only lead to awkward situations. It's the same in every country. In my country, foreigners don't use french escort or hooker services if they can't speak the language.

Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries in the world.

 

[barba]

i once used a translation device to ask for a blow job from a japanese hooker, but my inquiry came out something like "wonderful shame is to forbidden orality and simultaneous delusional compensation".

 

[darksider59]

Japan is one of the most xenophobic countries in the world.

Japan isn't perfect for sure. However, most people from my country have/had good experiences in Japan and never faced any form of racism (during vacations or while living there for a long period of time). It's unlikely that someone will come to you and say "go back to your country" or say any stereotype thing. In my country, people can even make fun of asian people in front of them by saying stupid things like "tchin chong " or worst, rob asian tourists them in public transports.

 

[Casshern2]

i once used a translation device to ask for a blow job from a japanese hooker, but my inquiry came out something like "wonderful shame is to forbidden orality and simultaneous delusional compensation".

LOL Love it!

(not to be confused with...)


I would really only bank on ever visiting Japan as a real tourist, just content on actually having made it there in the first place and enjoying watching Japanese life happen around me. If there are things Japanese do that only Japanese can do, hey, so be it. It's there country.

 

[TakahashiKyoto]

Nowadays, JAV actresses wouldn't get any benefit from shooting overseas. Their fans are mostly japanese, so they don't care about seeing their favorite actresses with foreign dudes. It's expensive, as you need to buy plane tickets, hotel rooms, and all those things for the japanese crew. And, not sure about that, but I think there is more money to make in JAV than western porn (gonzo is very cheap and quick to produce unlike JAV movies).

Not necessarily more money for them, more money for the agents. These vultures often keep waaaaay more than 50% of the share. I heard it can even be up to 80%. Which in turn increases the cost of shooting, since agents will inflate the price whenever they can -- in a way, not that dissimilar to what you can find in football with the FIFA agents.
Agents are also a nightmare to deal with, I got the confirmation thanks to a foreign acquaintance (an American guy living in Osaka) who used to shoot AV in Japan -- for a small company called Arrows if my memory serves me well.

Now, if you make direct contacts with 'free models' via their online presence (FB, Twitter etc.) it's an entirely different story. The bubble burst, less money than in the past, lots of competition etc. I'm not saying it's easy, and one definitely must be able to read/write/speak Japanese, but it's more do-able.
Be polite, take time to introduce yourself and your project, ask them about their fees and start from there.

Anyway, on a personal level, I'm really not sure I would base a AV company in Japan nor release the videos on the Japanese market. Having to deal with the necessity to censor/mosaic the footage must be a time-consuming nightmare.
Actually, after discussing with a couple of Japanese models on Model Mayhem, it seems that some of them prefer when the footage is not released in Japan.
Go figure.

 

[samurai79]

Zero chance for a nonーJapanese.