Late Singer’s Nude Photos To Be Sold By Record Company, Igniting Massive Backlash

Legal experts say it could be classified as “revenge porn.”

A record company has come under fire for planning to sell a late singer’s nude photos. According to one legal expert, the upcoming sale could “fall under the category of revenge porn and may be illegal.”

Yashiro Aki (also known as Yashiro) was a famous Japanese enka singer and painter. She passed away on December 30, 2023, at the age of 73 after being hospitalized for interstitial lung disease and a bout with anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis. During her 52-year career, she became known as “the queen of enka.”

New Century Records Co., a Japanese record company, announced–and doubled down on–its plans to sell a CD that features two fully nude photos of Yashiro, starting on April 21. The photos were taken by Yashiro’s live-in partner when she was in her 20s.

According to New Century Records president Hayakawa Hiroshi, the company purchased these photos of Yashiro from a person associated with her former agency, along with the master recording rights to some of her songs, about 25 years ago.

When pressed about the issue, Hayakawa said the CD’s upcoming release “is just business,” and that New Century Records isn’t breaking any laws.

What law is being violated? If you have a problem with it, just buy the rights.

— Hayakawa Hiroshi

The upcoming release has been condemned by Yashiro’s fans, who have started a petition (“Protect Aki Yashiro’s dignity and stop revenge porn” on Change.org) to halt the release.

This situation is more than just about entertainment; it is a violation of the rights and dignity of the deceased. If this is allowed to go unchecked, all women artists will be working in fear of the possibility that their dignity will be trampled upon after their death.

— Petition mission statement

The president of Yashiro Music and Gallery Inc has also slammed the release. Yashiro established the company to manage her portrait rights and copyrights.

This is an extremely distasteful event and one that we can never condone.

— Ono Makoto, president of Yashiro Music and Gallery

A government official has also spoken up on behalf of the deceased. At a news conference on April 16, Kumamoto Governor Kimura Takashi said, “If true, this is an offensive and unforgivable act. The sale should be stopped. [. . .] It is important that the dignity of Ms. Yashiro and her bereaved family be respected. I hope that Ms. Yashiro, who is the pride of the people of the prefecture, will not be disrespected.”

Is the sale illegal? It could be, according to lawyer Ito Kazuko, who specializes in sexual violence victimization cases. Another lawyer, Hattori Keiichiro, who specializes in criminal law, feels that it is unlikely that Yashiro consented to the sale of her nude photos, given that she didn’t disclose them before her death.

If (the photos) are released posthumously without the person’s permission, it would be trampling on the dignity of the deceased. If there is a complaint by the bereaved family, there is a good chance that it will become a criminal case.

— Ito Kazuko

In response to the controversy, a distribution company has refused to distribute the CD, leading Tower Records Japan Inc. to remove the CD from its order page. Another company, Rakuten Books, has also stopped taking orders.

Considering various circumstances, the product in question cannot be ordered at this time.

— Rakuten Books