Photographic proof of Japanese used panty vending machines? Plus a rant at no extra charge

Another gem thrown in my lap by Google Alerts:

This lame article from South Africa — really no more than a list of links — points to all the quirkiness of Japanese vending machines for no discernible reason. I don’t even think he’s in Japan.

I, however, am above such crass sensationalism and would never point out “strange” things about Japan just to get hits.

That’s why I was fascinated when I came across a certain something in his article. We’ve all heard the rumors. Some of us may have even seen something similar in Japan. In Kyoto I did see a vending machine that sold “panties”, but upon close inspection they did not claim to be used and actually appeared to have circular openings in the front (no comment). But very few people I’ve talked to have ever actually seen one. The picture below was reportedly taken in 2001 and is a “converted cigarette machine”:

It closely resembles machines I have seen in Japan before. Something about them makes me doubt they are the actual “used panty” vending machines for a couple reasons: 1) no mention of them being used; and 2) the public outcry that such activities have generated in the past. But I could very well be wrong.

Forgive me if I’m not exactly up on my panty vending machine history, but what I have heard is that the market for girls’ panties developed at some point over the years to the point that “burusera shops” (stores catering in gym shorts and school uniforms to sell to fetishists) began opening in the late 80s/early 90s. The accompanying trend of ubiquitous vending machines in Japan led for some enterprising smut-peddlers to put two and two together and voila — vending machines for panties.

However, public outcry has kept these types of machines from gaining much popularity, and burusera shops themselves have (rightly) been the target of arrests. As the Wiki article says, the first arrest was in 1993, but the shop owners have not had trouble getting around laws aimed at stopping them. As a result of the crackdown, the machines have faded in and out of existence as have the physical burusera shops. They are now mostly online and easily searchable (some even have English sites but I really don’t want to help you find them).

Reading this, one might wonder (as I do): just why is it that fetishism thrives in Japan? It’s pretty similar to America actually: a deadly combination of lax control of the porn industry, socially conservative upbringings that includes substantial separation of men and women in daily life, especially in the teenage years, and the development of a fetish culture that makes it easier for people to explore fetishes. Of course, people can’t help their sexual appetites, but as I’ve ranted elsewhere, this fetish culture has its more violent elements such as chikan (fondling of women in public) and the vast prostitution industry.

It’s tempting to sit in DC and criticize Japanese society for creating this problem, but what does the popularity of Japanese porn in the US (including the fetish stuff — see jlist.com and know that the guy running it is rich now) say about America?