Japanese Performer Shimiken Looking for a Few Good Men

TOKYO—In a Japan Times profile, Japanese performer Shimiken said he is looking for new male performers to join the ranks, saying in a tweet that there are more Bengal tigers than male porn stars in Japan. The Japan Times article reported "Shimiken’s call to arms was retweeted thousands of times by fans worried Japan’s $20 billion adult video industry could be under threat." Shimiken, 35, is described as "looking a little like porn’s answer to British punk rocker Johnny Rotten with his spiky orange hair." The profile tells of his vintage DeLorean car and "phallus-shaped business cards" as well as his fitness regimen and his use of " luxury face creams to keep his essential kit in tip-top condition." The shortage of male performers in Japan is attibuted by Shimiken to fear of being discovered—or, worse, ridiculed—by family and friends, and also the rise of what are called "herbivore men," young males who "shun sex and traditional masculine values in favor of a quiet, uncompetitive lifestyle." A veteran adult director noted the changes: “I’ve been in this business for 27 years and you can see the increase in herbivore males,” he told Japan Times. “Men aren’t hungry anymore. They’ve lost their desire. Everything’s on a plate for them. It wasn’t like that for my generation. If we got a banana or a pineapple we went crazy with joy. These days men don’t get excited by anything—the finest cookies or cakes. The same applies to sex and attitudes toward women and relationships. They just click on the Internet for it.” The complete Japan Times story can be accessed here.