BREAKING: RIP Nanami Yokomiya

In our constant pursuit for dopamine from watching these AV actors act in a seductive manner on our screens, in our attempt to closely monitor every aspect of their life on online forums and SNS platforms, eagerly awaiting the release of their next big JAV, we often tend to forget that these AV stars are just mere humans like us at the end of the day and are affected by negativity and online trolls just as we do, so much to the point that a handful of them might end up taking their lives. The JAV industry came witness to a similar incident last night when it was made aware that Ibaraki born AV actress Nanami Yokomiya was no more.

Few fans may have noticed that the 21 year old wasn’t doing well in the past couple of months. Although her JAVs happened to release as usual but there was not much bustle on her SNS, and in such cases, it’s a valid concern for her fans to begin to worry of their favorite idols well being.

Via a tweet last night on X, a long time friend of the actress who happened to work with her during her cafe maid days revealed on behalf of her friends & peers that Nanami had passed away a few days ago, and the exact deatils of her last rites is not yet confirmed. It's not clear what her peers plan to do, for now.

"Dear all. Nanami Yokomiya passed away the other day. As a representative of her friends, she asked me to inform you of her death, so I am announcing it here. Before she died, she had been telling me to contact her if anything should happen to her. I am truly sorry to hear of her sudden passing, but I hope she will be remembered forever amongst you." Honestly, It’s still hard to fathom the sudden passing of Nanami.

In a heartfelt statement on X, her friend denoted that the 21 year old didn’t really share a good relationship with her peers while growing up. Hence, to get out of the tumultuous condition at home she started moonlighting as a maid to earn money, while in high school. As per her, Nanami was the happiest when she was a maid. Then, she gradually transitioned into the AV industry. As per the statement, this was not Nanami’s first attempt to end her life as she had initiated that several times before. Now, this happens to be a recurring theme in the adult industry, a lot of these girls like Nanami are estranged from their families at an early age or even don't get to interact with their peers for a long time. Then, there’s this mentality associated with being an adult actress or their own limiting academic qualifications, that hinder these girls from having an actual career post retirement, this is a contributing factor among actresses that become mentally ill. Oftentimes, you might even catch a glimpse up close at events, and it's easy to see self-inflicted injuries on these performers, few even take it to extremes like play tic-tac-toe with razor blades on their wrists.

Covering the news on his site, a frequent AV critique wrote that when he reached out to her agency to request them to send the actress to Taiwan for pursuing fan events, he was denied by the office at that time citing that Nanami’s condition wasn’t stable and they rather chose to offer him with Yui Tenma & Nene Tanaka, both being prominent JAV talents. He goes on to cite that after hearing the news of her unfortunate passing, he suspects that her deteriorating mental health might have been the reason for her death. Notice how she made her intentions clear from what appears to be her final text to her friend, "Miyu, please be happy, and if there are no tweets or anything after Christmas this year, Please think that I really have died. I love you, Miyu-chan! Don't worry about replying."

An adjoined screenshot from Nanami's Instagram story which I assume is her final message to her fans, "I'm sorry I couldn't do my best, but it was hard work for me to go all the way, and I guess I don't have any updates from now on. Please, I'm finally at ease. I'm not sure if I'd continue to be able to do this. Go ahead and be happy. Well, then."

The nature of this text is in itself heartbreaking and I can't fathom what an emotional turmoil she must've gone through while typing her final words. I really can't imagine any actress in this industry to go through such ordeal. If at all this column makes way into a JAV actors inbox, please consider reaching out to your peers, colleagues or even our official X handle for that matter, there's lots of help available at disposal, if only one seeks out. I do believe that some people lose the will to live but taking one's own life isn't the solution either, It bestows a never ending burden that your peers will live on with the rest of their lives.

Nevertheless, the studios will end up releasing her JAVs that have already been filmed as they’ve got to make money off it and can’t suffer losses having already cleared Nanami's dues mentioned in the contract at the time of filming, but the business side of it all seems so ironic to me. The mere fact that one party is making money off a person who is no more in this world is silly but I guess that’s how the entertainment industry works. The show must go on, as they often like to quote. Ofcourse, there’s a time for mourning and a time to move on with our personal lives but next time when you go buy Nanami's work, keep in mind that the money that goes out of your pocket isn’t benefitting an estranged 20 year old who had dreams of her own, and really wanted to mend things with her peers (fund her sister’s education, looking after her grandmother stands testament to that, as mentioned by her friend) but would rather finance the aspirations of a multi million dollar conglomerate that only profits of these girls. If not for them, I don’t know where the industry would have been today.

Reach out to them, if you or someone you know needs assistance in regards to suicide prevention.