|
From porn to pop culture
By Carlo Niederberger
November 18, 2004
Tokyo — Ai Iijima had precious little idea what speaking at the Foreign
Correspondents' Club of Japan entailed, or what the FCC was for that matter.
But finding out she'd be on equal footing with personages like Prime Minster
Junichiro Koizumi, soccer legend Diego Maradona and former Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev, she proudly claimed her appearance recently as
"revolutionary," while jokingly asking the crowd if there was anyone against
her being the invited speaker on the night.
The former porn star, now a TV "talent," showed up in a clean-cut, charcoal
gray suit with an elegant, rose brooch pinned to her bosom — a far cry from how
she dressed back in 1992, when as a rebellious 20-year-old, she made her first
adult movie, following stints working in karaoke joints, snack bars and Ginza
hostess clubs.
"I hated my parents, to the point where I would rather be coached by bums to
sleep in parks wrapped in newspaper blankets," says Iijima, whose real name is
Mitsuko Ishii. In the end, she predictably ran away, found it hard to make ends
meet, and set foot in the porn industry with an "oh well, why not" attitude,
her eyes blinded by yen symbols.
"Nowadays though, guys earn a lot more than girls," she claims, pinpointing the
deceitful trends where scouts lure young girls to disrobe with little reward,
promising they'd only be seen on the Internet. "These girls have no idea how
far-reaching the web is."
Given her illicit past, her comments naturally convey a touch of feminism.
"Viagra was approved by legislature in less than a year, while the pill took a
long, long time to come about. How unfair, you oyajis!" mocked the 32-year-old,
whose "autobiographical" fiction novel "Platonic Sex" has sold over a million
copies and has been translated into Korean, Taiwanese and Italian, with an
English version coming soon.
But while talking tough against male lawmakers, she's been far-removed from
politics, only paying attention to widely publicized scandals such as those
involving disgraced Hokkaido politician Muneo Suzuki and former Foreign
Minister Makiko Tanaka.
"If I ever become a politician, that would spell the end of Japan," joked
Iijima, who once had dinner with then Health and Welfare Minister Junichiro
Koizumi. On that occasion, the current prime minister entertained her with
tales on fornication between dragonflies.
Trying to shed her past image, Iijima skillfully dodged questions that were
"below the belt," while touching upon issues like sex education, the narrowness
of information outlets in Japan and the fate of pubescent schoolgirls about to
follow in her footsteps, something she's not too worried about.
"Kids aren't fragile things that need protection," the ex-porn star said,
"they're actually pretty smart." As for herself, Iijima believes in carpe diem.
"If today brings laughter, I'm more than happy. And if I try looking 10 years
ahead to what I'll be doing, I'll lose track of tomorrow."
Comment on this story,
click here.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
 |
