New Film ‘Life: Untitled’ Explores Lives of Japan’s Sex Workers

LOS ANGELES—The feature film debut of Japanese director Kana Yamada depicts the daily struggles of Japan’s sex workers, in a country where despite widespread tolerance of the sex industry — called “fuzoku” — sex workers still find themselves at the bottom of the social ladder. Set to be released on November 13 in Japan, the film Life: Untitled made its debut at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, where according to a Japan Times review, “the critical reaction was divided, with some finding the film harsh and grating and others praising it as truthful and groundbreaking.” That English-language paper’s film critic, Mark Schilling, counted himself “in the latter camp” in praise of the film, though he added, “I thought the story probably worked better on stage, where its broad emotional strokes play to the back rows, rather than the screen, where they can feel overwrought.” Yamada, who also wrote the screenplay, adapted the film from her own stage play, and like the play deals with “the dignity of sex workers despite their baseborn social status,” according to the TIFF site.  Sex work remains technically illegal in Japan, though laws against it are enforced only loosely, and contain enough loopholes to allow for what was, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a thriving sex industry.  The law defines “prostitution” only as vaginal intercourse with an “unspecified person.” That, of course, allows a wide variety of sex acts that may be performed legally in exchange for payment. It also allows for the unimpeded operation of “soaplands,” which are brothels which claim that they allow customer and sex worker to become acquainted before engaging in intercourse. The exchange of cash for vaginal intercourse is legal if the participating parties know each other and consensually agree to the transaction. Though the film deals directly and frankly with sex workers, it contains only some light male nudity.  “We did talk a lot about exposing naked bodies,” Yamada told TIFF. “We concluded that the film is about the life of each sex worker, rather than the sex itself.” The film stars Japanese TV actress Sairi Ito (pictured above) as the protagonist, Kano, who gives up on sex work after just one experience, but maintains several friends who continue in the profession. “Kano is basically a raccoon dog who wants to be a hare,” Yamada said. “I wanted someone who could embody the pride of being unattractive.” Photo By Fantasia International Film Festival YouTube Screen Capture