# can't possibly be true? Mother/son sex in Japan. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363 "2006-11-06T22:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/21 "2006-11-19T23:39:51Z")
[QUOTE=Rico] I must say, **Tammi** , your presence is welcome - but it took you 7 years to make 40 posts? Nice post, BTW. Welcome back. [/QUOTE] Not to sound too much like a fan but what she lacks in quantity, she more than makes up for in quality. Check out her exhaustive research on [Banzai](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7720923#post7720923) and [Let them eat cake](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6582954#post6582954). Glad your still here **Tammi** ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/22 "2006-11-19T23:51:50Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] I’ve heard the story described in the OP from [this article](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2002/01/20020106p2g00m0dm999000c.html). I have no idea how reliable it is, however. Work safe link, by the way. Japanese version of MSN. [/QUOTE] From the same site: [Deadly ‘iku iku byo’ reaches a climax](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2006/11/20061115p2g00m0dm040000c.html) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/23 "2006-11-20T01:06:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I must say, **Tammi** , your presence is welcome - but it took you 7 years to make 40 posts? Yeah, sorry about that: once I get going it’s hard to shut me up . . . (Thanks for the kind words, **Rico** and **Shalmanese**.) – Tammi Terrell ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/24 "2006-11-20T02:23:24Z")
Has it happened before? Probably at least once. Is it common? Hell no. Weird shit does happen with pretty decent frequency in Japan, but a particular weird behavior being widespread is not likely. Like _TokyoPlayer_ said, the weekly magazines have some . . . interesting ideas about what constitute actual facts. They go for titillation over substance. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/25 "2006-11-20T03:03:34Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I’ve read this too. Unfortunetly, it was in the subtitles of a pornographic Japanese cartoon. Probably not an authoritative cite. [/QUOTE] Probably preceded by the blurb that read “Really, we **SWEAR** , \*everyone \* depicted in this video is _WAY OVER 18_! On top of being completely imaginary!” 😃 [sub]… the worst part of it, is I \*\*know \*\* exactly which one it was… [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/26 "2006-11-20T03:48:12Z")
From what I have _heard_, Japanese video rental shops usually have a pretty big selection of incest videos. Many of these feed on the current trend of “older woman/ younger man” relationships. The usual storylines involve the a stepmother/stepson union. While I have never heard or read of actual incidents like this in real life, I wouldn’t be suprised if they occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/27 "2006-11-20T04:06:56Z")
The article linked to by **Jophiel** has been mentioned more than once around here. Basically, it’s a tabloid citing a cram school director (who range from dedicated professionals to quick-yen snake-oil salesmen) who’s plugging his own tell-all book (putting him firmly on the snake-oil side), in which he cites unnamed acquaintances describing unnamed parents, but in lurid, full-color detail. Sounds more like someone just setting his adolescent MILF-next-door fantasies to paper. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/28 "2006-11-20T04:43:29Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer] Two of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of Japan are sexuality and work/study. I’ve heard more misconceptions about these two areas than most others. [/QUOTE] We eagerly await an “Ask the Tokyo Playa” Thread. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/29 "2006-11-20T06:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=Tammi Terrell] …while incest exists in Japan, it’s no more prevalent in that country than it is in its industrialized counterparts… [/QUOTE] Wait a minute. Japan is not industrialised? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/30 "2006-11-20T07:02:47Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] We eagerly await an “Ask the Tokyo Playa” Thread. [/QUOTE] I should do that sometime. All you wanted to know about Japan but were afraid to ask. 🆒 > [@Sublight](#): > > Sounds more like someone just setting his adolescent MILF-next-door fantasies to paper. Japan doesn’t lack for tabloid press and tv. About 15 years ago, they went through a phase where it was “shocking” that young women would like foreigners, and then about 10 years ago as “shocking” that some high school girls were selling themselves. School girls here tend to wear their skirts on the short side, so there was never a lack of video footage of high school girls with miniskirts, and the impression was that this was more common than what actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![Tartuffe52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tartuffe52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tartuffe52)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/31 "2006-11-20T10:03:12Z")
[QUOTE=TokyoPlayer] I should do that sometime. All you wanted to know about Japan but were afraid to ask. 🆒 Japan doesn’t lack for tabloid press and tv. About 15 years ago, they went through a phase where it was “shocking” that young women would like foreigners, and then about 10 years ago as “shocking” that some high school girls were selling themselves. School girls here tend to wear their skirts on the short side, so there was never a lack of video footage of high school girls with miniskirts, and the impression was that this was more common than what actually happened. [/QUOTE] I have heard that on the trains in Japan, it is permissable to fondle nearby passengers…as long as you do not attempt to communicate with them in other ways. The story I’d heard was of a Japanese-American male traveling in Japan, got on one of the trains and was groped by a pretty female passenger. When they got off at the same stop, he asked her for a phone number and was heatedly rejected. I suspect that this story, too, was bogus. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/32 "2006-11-20T17:16:29Z")
[QUOTE=Tartuffe52] I have heard that on the trains in Japan, it is permissable to fondle nearby passengers…as long as you do not attempt to communicate with them in other ways. The story I’d heard was of a Japanese-American male traveling in Japan, got on one of the trains and was groped by a pretty female passenger. When they got off at the same stop, he asked her for a phone number and was heatedly rejected. I suspect that this story, too, was bogus. [/QUOTE] Good lord, no. Or rather, yes, the story is probably bogus. Women being groped on the trains at rush-hour was for a long time one of those things that got met with “sho ga nai” (it can’t be helped), since the trains are usually too packed to see who’s doing it, and most people have had it drilled into their heads since birth never to make a scene in public. The police were also not much help. None of this, however, means that it was ever considered permissable. Lately, though, things have changed (and not toward permissiveness), perhaps because of the greater number of women gaining political power. More women are stepping forward to publicly accuse gropers, laws on molestation actually have some teeth now, and the police have actually started arresting people. Fines can be up to US$2,500 and jail time may be a possibility. In addition, many train lines have started designating a “women only” car during the morning rush, although this has created some controversy (some men feel it’s discriminatory, and some women feel it leaves them more open to attack, since molesters reason that if the the women aren’t in the designated car (at the end of the train, often far out of the way), they must want it). ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/33 "2006-11-21T02:37:48Z")
What **Sublight** says. Gropping has been a serious problem, but attitudes are changing, and people are getting arrested for gropping. I’ve helped overpower a gropper and take him to the police, before. More people are starting to try and video up women’s skirts. This also is illegal, and will result in arrest if caught. > [@JpnDude](#): > > From what I have heard, Japanese video rental shops usually have a pretty big selection of incest videos. Many of these feed on the current trend of “older woman/ younger man” relationships. The usual storylines involve the a stepmother/stepson union. While I have never heard or read of actual incidents like this in real life, I wouldn’t be suprised if they occurred. Cite? Not that I go into adult video shops often, but incest is not one of the popular categories. S&M and younger women are prevalent, but incest? ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/34 "2006-11-21T04:51:34Z")
The _chikan_ (groper) problem was bad enough that they designated women-only train cars last year (the year before?) to provide a refuge, or something like that. I think that’s pretty shortsighted. What, are you going to blame the women who get groped because they didn’t go to the “back of the bus”? The flip side of this is that some unscrupulous young women have used the new laws to make money. The scam is that they’ll either brush up against a likely-looking target or just get close enough to make it plausible and start yelling about how he groped them. Then they hit him with the extortion: pay me and I won’t tell the cops. Even if he hasn’t done anything, the presumption of guilt will mess his life up, so he’ll probably pay. My favorite recent scandal was the couple of stories I saw about hooking housewife taxi drivers. Taxi income not quite enough? Why not offer your passenger the “special” taxi service? Especially easy to believe considering the sheer volume of sex-oriented ads that are around in magazines, pasted to phone booths, put up on telephone poles, etc. Amateur prostitution is by all indications a booming industry in Japan. On preview: **TokyoPlayer** , just check out a naughty DVD/manga shop. There are _bestiality_ sections in a couple of shops, subdivided by animal. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was an incest section, both “father/daughter” and “mother/son,” though I don’t remember offhand if there was in any of the places I went to. My curiosity is pretty much fulfilled with a gander every 6 months to a year. The nausea lasts about that long before partial amnesia kicks in. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/35 "2006-11-21T08:01:20Z")
I was going to mention the problem of women extorting money from men, but I didn’t have enough time to elaborate on my previous post. **Sleel** , If you wonder in every 6 months, then you go in more often than I do, but I haven’t seen an incest section. I’m not doubting that one could exist, but **JpnDude** is claiming > [@](#): > > Japanese video rental shops usually have a pretty big selection of incest videos. There is one hell of a difference between possible and “usually have a pretty big selection.” In a tread combatting an urban legend, I would not want to see another one propagated. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/36 "2006-11-21T13:33:39Z")
I haven’t rented any porno videos lately\* but I don’t remember there being any large incest section. The actresses tend to be pretty young, so the closest they tended to get to the MILF fantasy was the ‘teacher / student’, or occasionally a ‘teenage son / very young stepmom’ setup. I do recall seeing an ‘older women’ section on one shelf that had some videos of women in their 40’s, 50’s and even 60’s, so there might have been some incest-themed ones there, but it was a very small subset of the total porn section. \*The MIL (definitely not a MILF) lives with us now, so I do most of my porn viewing online. Besides, our three-month old sleeps in an open room facing the living room, so watching porn, even without the grandmother in the house, would be feel awkward. Going to have to get another TV and DVD player for our bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/37 "2006-11-21T16:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=Jophiel] I’ve heard the story described in the OP from [this article](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2002/01/20020106p2g00m0dm999000c.html). I have no idea how reliable it is, however. Work safe link, by the way. Japanese version of MSN. [/QUOTE] Um… just a pointer here… this article was taken from WaiWai… never, never, never, never quote WaiWai on anything, ever. It’s basically a porn tabloid created to titillate gaijin. [http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/index.html](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/38 "2006-11-22T01:08:13Z")
[QUOTE=Brain Wreck] Um… just a pointer here… this article was taken from WaiWai… never, never, never, never quote WaiWai on anything, ever. It’s basically a porn tabloid created to titillate gaijin. [http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/index.html](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/index.html) [/QUOTE] Not exactly, it’s translations of articles in several weekly Japanese magazines. The original Japanese magazines came first, WaiWai just makes them accessible to non-Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/39 "2006-11-22T01:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] Not exactly, it’s translations of articles in several weekly Japanese magazines. The original Japanese magazines came first, WaiWai just makes them accessible to non-Japanese. [/QUOTE] The original Japanese magazines are also tabloid crap. WaiWai just cherrypicks the most titillating ones and translates them to English, thereby entertaining gaijin by reinforcing their wildest fantasies about Japanese sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363/40 "2006-11-22T05:11:15Z")
I’ll take your word on it. I had no idea how valid a source it was, hence my qualifiers. I knew I had seen the story before (heck, I think I originally saw it linked on this site) and it’s been making the rounds for a few years now so I just assumed it was the catalyst for the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-possibly-be-true-mother-son-sex-in-japan/379363.md?page=3)