The Tone Shoten bookstore chain is located in Maebashi-Nonaka along National Route No. 50 in Maebashi has a signboard that reads Men's DVDs. Shinichi Koizumi MAEBASHI - An adult bookstore chain is helping elderly men take their dirty secrets to the grave by privately disposing of their porn collections.
Tone Shoten, which sells sex toys, said it bought nearly 70,000 DVDs from men aged 65 and over in 2020 and 2021, which is mainly used in the northern Kanto region.
The company said that many customers seem to be making end-of-life preparations and have brought in their DVDs without the knowledge of their families.
Tone Shoten said it started the service on a full scale in 2015. It accepted online orders from customers to buy DVDs through pick-up services.
Demand for the service has gone up.
Customers can send items in tape-sealed cardboard boxes in order to eliminate any concerns that someone can see the contents inside.
The service also removes face-to- face negotiations between customers and shop clerks about the price of pornographic titles.
One regular customer is in his 80 s, according to the chain.
Another customer asked the company to dispose of several thousand DVDs before he was admitted to a nursing home.
A man in his 60 s said he had been making end-of-life preparations, but he didn't know what to do with his adult DVDs.
One satisfied customer in his 50 s said he needed the service to take care of his porn collection before he moved in with his child's family.
In November of last year, Tone Shoten launched a monthlong promotional campaign targeting male senior citizens who were making end-of-life preparations.
The store paid extra 1,000 yen $7 for people who brought in at least 10 DVDs for appraisal. They received an Amazon gift certificate worth 500 yen if they filled out a questionnaire about their concerns and requests for the disposal of adult DVDs.
A public relations representative said that we receive inquiries from spouses and family members who don't know what to do with the DVDs left behind by the deceased. We hope that we can reduce the mental burden of bereaved family members because it may involve things that are too sensitive to be known by anyone else. Some customers said they wanted to organize their belongings because of the COVID 19 epidemic, with stay-at- home lifestyles becoming more common.
The official said that DVDs purchased from customers were secondhand merchandise. Sustainable Development Goals are in the adult entertainment industry. The Tone Shoten chain is operated by Primavera Co., which is based in Ota, Gunma Prefecture.
Its businesses include buying and selling old clothes and jewelry, as well as operating chiropractic clinics and other businesses.
The first outlet opened in 1998 on the ruins of a convenience store in the city, each store equipped with a large signboard that reads Men's DVDs starting at 333 yen. The 25th outlet opened in Ibaraki Prefecture on September 23.