We here at R18 Japan love writing and talking about Japanese Porn and everything that comes with it besides many other topics from Japan. July 2026 been a busy month in the Japanese adult world with retirements, weddings, lawsuits (or at least threats of them), and a legendary director passing on. Here’s a quick rundown of the five stories that stood out the most.
1. Legendary Director Tohjiro Passes Away at 70
Chisho Ito, better known as Tohjiro, died at 70 after battling lung cancer. His wife, former AV star Mirei Asaoka, shared the news.
Tohjiro was a big name, especially for hardcore and BDSM stuff. He started in the late ’80s, founded the Dogma label in 2001, and kept working right up until the end. He even shot a semi-autobiographical film called Stage IV about dealing with terminal cancer, which screened for crowdfunders and at a film festival in Germany. A proper legend of the industry.
2. Tennis Pro Ayano Sonoda Calls Out a Porn Parody
Professional tennis player Ayano Sonoda went public after spotting a new E-Body release that looked a little too familiar. The cover for the debut of “Marika Sonoda” showed a tennis player in a pose that matched one of Ayano’s own Instagram photos almost perfectly—same surname and everything.
She posted the side-by-side comparison and asked her followers if she could sue. The video itself is your classic oiled-up threesome after a few token tennis scenes. These celebrity-inspired parodies sometimes get pulled under pressure, so it’ll be interesting to see if this one sticks around.
3. Sumire Mizukawa (aka Emiri Momota) Gets Married
Sumire Mizukawa dropped wedding photos on Instagram with the cheeky caption “Sorry… officially sold out.” She’s 32, Osaka-born, and has worked under a few names over the years, including Emiri Momota for her overseas stuff.
This is actually her second marriage—the first one to an American didn’t last long. She’d already stepped back from mainstream AV earlier in the year but was still doing independent and OnlyFans content. Whether the wedding means a full exit or just a quieter phase is still up in the air.
We also have a full article covering the story here.
4. Retiring Star Kyoko Ichikawa Asks Fans for Privacy
45-year-old Kyoko Ichikawa announced her retirement in early July, then had to follow up with a more serious message. People were spreading private info about her workplace and personal life, plus sending nasty DMs.
She asked fans to stop digging and, if they happen to spot her at a regular job, just look the other way. She’s still doing some events (including a graduation party) and content creation, but clearly wants a cleaner break from the AV side of things. The whole situation is a reminder of how hard it can be for performers to step back without the internet following them.
5. Nagoya Man Arrested Over Missing Contracts
A 38-year-old company employee in Nagoya got arrested for producing amateur adult videos without giving the women proper contracts. He reportedly recruited performers through matching apps, paid them ¥10,000–30,000 a scene, and made around ¥30 million in sales.
He admitted the paperwork was a hassle and that some women said they didn’t need it. Police seized cameras, receipts, and contact lists. It’s another sign that the stricter rules introduced a few years ago apply to the independent and amateur scene too—not just the big studios.