The Tone Shoten bookstore chain is located at the Maebashi-Nonaka outlet. In Maebashi, there is 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 over 65 in the 2020 and 2021 region.
Many customers seem to be making end-of-life preparations and have brought in their DVDs without the knowledge of their families, the company said.
Tone Shoten started the service in 2015 on a full-scale basis. Customers can buy DVDs through pick-up services through online orders.
Demand for the service has gone up.
Customers can send items in tape-sealed cardboard boxes to be sure that nobody 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 a number of 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 an 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 there were inquiries from spouses and family members who don't know what to do with the DVDs left behind by the deceased. We hope to reduce the mental burden of bereaved family members because they may involve things that are too sensitive to be known by anyone else. With stay-at- home lifestyles becoming more common during the COVID-19 epidemic, some customers said they wanted to organize their belongings.
The official said that DVDs purchased from customers were secondhand merchandise. Sustainable Development Goals 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, operating chiropractic clinics and other businesses.
The first outlet opened in 1998 on the ruins of a convenience store in the city, with each store equipped with a large signboard that reads Men's DVDs starting at 333 yen. The 25th outlet was opened in Ibaraki Prefecture on September 23.