This fall, tensions between China and Japan got serious. A dispute over islands stirred up nationalistic demonstrations in China. Protestors didn't just take to the streets to voice their anti-Japanese sentiment. Some of them took to their hard drives.
According to Japanese daily Nikkan Spa!, during those protests, websites that shared pirated clips and videos began taking down illegally uploaded Japanese anime and Japanese pornography in the name of patriotism. At the time there were reports of Chinese net users saying they'd never watch another Japanese porn again, even if it featured the country's favorite retired Japanese porn star Aoi Sola (pictured, with a cupcake).
A Japanese foreign exchange student told Spa! that during these heated protests, the Chinese people around him that were into dirty movies "put up with" watching skin flicks from South Korea or Taiwan. And now, the student says a "return to Japan" it spreading, and some of them are secretly getting pirated Japanese adult vids. So will it be dirty movies that bring the two countries together in a form or erotic diplomacy?
Porn aside, culture—pop culture—can do wonders for international relations. If you are into a countries art, film, music, or video games, you develop a natural affinity for said country. It's harder to hate a country once you have appreciation for what they create, even if that appreciation is only skin deep.
やっぱりＡＶは日本製がいい！中国で広がる"日本回帰" [Yahoo! Japan]
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