ZENRA Exclusive Interview with JAV Actress June Lovejoy

Editor’s Note:  Hello frequent readers.  Today’s entry marks the first in a series of exclusive interviews with those who work in the JAV industry in front of the cameras—in other words JAV stars (and actors too down the line).  June, given her background, is an obvious choice to get things started.  We reached out to her and she eagerly was down for giving an interview.  And be it June and the many other actresses we are working with, most questions will be less boilerplate and more geared to what foreigners want to hear.


While JAV has been dominated by Japanese performers in a Japanese market, which makes it all the more exciting when change occurs. One performer breaking boundaries is June Lovejoy, who has kindly agreed to an interview! While she probably needs no introduction, June is a JAV actress who came from the U.S. and is fluent in Japanese. June is well known for interviewing AV actresses, actors, and directors on her YT channel, as well as carrying them for Twitter clips. 

Icebreaker

 Your Twitter says you're originally from America, can you talk about when you moved to Japan and why you decided to enter the JAV industry?

           I moved to Japan around 4 years ago. Originally I came to study Japanese, Chinese, and Japanese sign language. At the time I was hoping to become an interpreter or translator. Eventually I got hired to my “dream” company, but it was extremely corrupt and I legitimately suffered there for two and a half years. After finally getting the courage to quit, I was faced with the question of what to do next. In all sincerity I wanted to have lots of different kinds of sex with a variety of people, but in a safe and controlled environment.

What did your friends and family think when you told them you're doing JAV?

            Both parties were extremely happy I left the corrupt company because they say what it was doing to me physically and mentally. My friends were super excited about me joining the JAV industry. I actually have a lot of friends from college following my social media and cheering me on. It means a lot! My family, particularly my mom, just asked me to be careful. We talk sometimes, but it’s never about work.

Since you're a huge Pokemon fan, who's your favorite Pokemon?

Chansey! I love the design, nostalgic feeling of “rarity” (from Red/Blue), and it’s Pokédex entry very much!

Any fellow talents, past or present, that you look up to and see as a role model?

I don’t have any role models in the sense of “I want to be a JAV actress like them!!” But I look up to Nagai Maria for her erotic expression and body, Chura Kanon for her BDSM work, as well as Urara Uraraka for her artistic expression (also she’s hot).

Any "greatest hits" of yours that you feel proud of to introduce for somebody new to you?

My gokkun film from Cosmos Pictures (HAWA-208) or my film from h.m.p (HOVD-21473). They are older, but I had a lot of fun with them. What’s weird is the films I cannot recommend or didn’t really enjoy always seem to end up being fan favorites. But, the two I mentioned are both fan AND June favorites (laughs).

So what do your non-shoot days look like? You seem to be super busy with running your subreddit, responding to emails, translating your videos, and responding to fans. Are you able to catch a break and relax?

I actually have a huge problem with not taking breaks. It’s a bad habit of mine and I don’t know how to fix it. There’s not really a day I am truly resting, but sometimes if I sneak in a little break I like to take hot baths, play video games, read a book, go hiking, watch comedy shows, or play with my cats. What’s that one expression..? You can rest when you’re dead? That’s... unironically me...

Please tell us about your initial experience contacting an agency and convincing them you were serious about becoming a JAV star. I'm sure they were extremely surprised. How did that talk go? What about the first meeting?

There was no convincing and that’s why I really like my agency. I was treated normally and professionally. I, on the other hand, was nervous. I had researched online prior to applying and read all of these horror stories so I was sure the guy I was talking to just HAD to be some gang lord. My first meeting involved paperwork, being briefed on how the industry works, and about the agency itself. In one word, it was very, very professional.

Any interesting stories about your first shoots before you had anything released yet?

Ah, nothing too interesting during that time. I wasn’t sure how to smile for photos, so my first ever director (豆沢豆太郎) told me to say “SUSHI ZANMAI!” which is a chain sushi restaurant here in Japan. It made me laugh and that’s how most of my smiling photos were taken. (laughs) That was so embarrassing. Also on that same set that make-up artist was a HUGE Taylor Swift fan and we listened to Taylor Swift for the entire day’s shoot while she talked about Taylor Swift the entire time. I just finished sucking some guys dick and this lady tells me about how when she first met Taylor Swift. This industry is wild (laughs).

Views/Experiences on Japan/Sex Industry

How do you feel about mosaic censorship in JAV?

I absolutely hate it. I want to keep my answer short and sweet, but I have so many gripes about the mosaic. In America growing up I watched 4Kids a lot. One Piece’s censorship was absolutely crazy, but it was geared for kids, right? But American porn doesn’t have that mosaic censorship, because it’s for adults. The reverse is true in Japan. One Piece has kid viewers and yet they have guns, knives, tobacco, cleavage, sexual innuendos, etc. Yet content made for adults is heavily censored. I feel like removing the mosaic would lead to higher sales for JAV, thus helping Japanese economy as well as interest in Japan. For foreign fans: There’s already a heavy language barrier, so no matter how erotic a film is, if a viewer can’t understand Japanese and there’s a barrage of pixels on everything, what is there to enjoy? We work as a team to make something for an audience to enjoy and then slap some ugly mosaic on it to water down our work. It’s so frustrating!

Is there anything from western porn you'd like to see Japan start doing?

No mosaic!!

As a whole I really dislike western porn. However, I would like to see more LGBTQ friendly work as well as more women with tattoos and piercings in JAV.

Do you have any crazy stories of when you first came to Japan that you'd like to share with readers?

My first time ever in Tokyo I came to visit my online boyfriend (Japanese guy) for the first time. We weren’t able to meet yet, so I just traveled around Tokyo by myself and one day I was returning back to my share house in Asakusa. Some salary-man randomly grabs me and starts groping me in an alley. I was horrified and managed to escape before he did more to me, but I was traumatized and told my boyfriend that we should break up and that I was “dirty”. It’s past midnight and all the trains are essentially not running, but he rushes to come console me. We finally meet after a year of dating online and I’m crying and apologizing for being attacked and he’s apologizing for not being able to protect me. We heat up from there and end up having sex in (a different) alley in Asakusa for hours. It was and still is that most passionate and pleasurable sexual experience of my life.

Do you feel that people in the industry treat you differently because you're not a Japanese native? Or has the amount of time you've lived here and your fluency makes people not think of you as a foreigner?

No matter how fluent I am, all shoots end up with everyone jokingly speaking broken English or カタコト just for fun. I purposefully mix English and Japanese for fun and staff always start mimicking my speaking styles. Japan is a country that no matter how fluent you speak the language or how long you’ve lived here, you will always be a foreigner. I use that as a way to uniquely help and promote the JAV industry, not just my own career, because I genuinely love the industry and the people in it. On a negative note, I’m sometimes put on some weird pedestal for being American and seen as a “rare fuck” so male actors and directors can sometimes get weird/gross with their wording or view of me.

Early on your roles very much highlighted you being a foreigner doing JAV. However, recently you seem to have been cast in movies simply for being an actress that fit the role.  Do you prefer movies that cast you due to your race or do you prefer being selected because you're the best woman for the part?

This was my biggest worry before going into the industry. I felt I could only do “English teacher” so many times before even hardcore fans would get bored. But, because I can speak Japanese, I am given acting roles where my race has little to do with the role I am acting. I think I’m selected for my race in films where race plays a part in the role (English teacher, exchange student, etc.), and for non-race related reasons for films where the role doesn’t have anything to do with my race (in particular my Marrion butt film, nose hook film, and nurse film from Dandy). When casting me there will always be a mix of roles where I am picked because they want a foreigner and then roles where I am picked because they want June Lovejoy.

How has interacting with international fans been? Do you think that there's room for the industry to try and engage more fans abroad?

I love interacting with international fans! I feel like they are more open to joking with me and sharing memes than Japanese fans are. I absolutely think there is room for the industry to engage with fans abroad more, but fans abroad also need to pull their weight and refrain from pirating the work we make. Money talks and speaking a foreign language is difficult, so the industry isn’t going to pay much attention to fans abroad unless they see a monetary incentive to do so. That being said, actresses get really excited and surprised when they get attention from fans abroad, so please continue supporting your favorites! It really means a lot to them! Sometimes on set or even LINE, actresses will send me English comments from fans and ask me to translate. They want to interact, but the language barrier is a difficult one to cross.

You’ve posted recently on Twitter about meeting Maria Nagai. Can you tell us about your encounter with her and how you’ve connected? Do you think there is solidarity among JAV actresses who are foreigners or perceived as foreigners in Japan? If so, can you tell us your thoughts on it?

I think rather than the foreign aspects we have solidarity with our body types. Nagai Maria really values that “foreign bombshell” body type and does a lot to maintain hers. Her body type and the amount of plastic surgery she has done is not widely accepted in Japan despite her being open about it and doing it because she likes it. When I even just mention liking Maria Nagai, some weirdo is bound to say, “Oh, that cyborg?”. Like grow up.

Sex-related

Who's the best male talent that you have worked with?

Nojima from tkmeat028. He was so good he literally melted my brain and I forgot my lines and what the director had asked me to do. It was my first time experiencing that. Like my brain felt like it was being fried from pleasure.

Do you prefer the real thing or sex toys?

The real thing. I don’t even like penetration as much as I like all of the other ~fun~ stuff you can do with the real thing. Toys don’t twitch or moan or do any of the stuff that makes sex, sex! That being said, I have an ungodly amount of toys and love using them, especially my denma!

What is your private life like? Do you prefer to only have sex on camera?

Only on camera! That’s why I joined the industry! In my private life I have to date someone for quite awhile before feeling comfortable and safe enough to open up sexually. With JAV sets, it’s all professional, controlled, and we show each other our STD test results before starting. So it’s easier to get in the mood for me.

What is your favorite sex toy?

Oh, sorry! I mentioned it before, but a denma will make me turn into a blubbering mess of ecstasy. I love them!

Future Work

Are there any actresses that you'd like to work with in the future? In lesbian or threesome works?

In no particular order, Nagai Maria, Kanon Urara, Chura Kanon, Tamiya Monaka, Natsuki Takeuchi, and Ayaka Mochizuki.

Is there anyone that you'd love to see join JAV from western porn?

I don’t know anyone from western porn.

What is your long-term plan for yourself? Shoot for the stars and leave your mark in the industry or be a low-key cult favorite?

Leave a mark on the industry! I have a body type and skin color that a lot of people (Japanese and foreign) don’t necessarily want to see in JAV films, but I would like to make an impact not only in my film aspects, but also destigmatizing sex and the JAV industry with my interview series as well as hopefully make some work towards removing the mosaic censorship, stopping piracy of JAV films, and making it easier for fans abroad to enjoy JAV. Even if you can’t jerk off to me, I would be happy to have fans support me in other things I do!

You're a foreign actress that has made it big in this industry. You've shown up several times on the top monthly rankings and work with a lot of the big studios. How does it feel knowing that you're paving the way for other foreigners to make it big in this industry?

Oh gosh, I don’t even think about it that way. Just hearing that sentence makes me feel a little overwhelmed, haha. I am literally just a huge pervert enjoying myself with other perverts. I hope anyone, no matter their background, can enjoy and express themselves sexually!

You’ve done a wide variety of movies and your lesbian release with Mako Oda really stands out. Are there more hardcore/wacky themes that you want to do such as anal or bukkake? 

I’ve never done anal besides pegging an American ex-boyfriend. I would like to try it, but more so I want to do more SENZ films, pegging, trans women and lesbian films!

I think a lot of international fans would love to see you do a video in English. Is that something you would be interested in doing? Like one of those BBC hot springs videos, such as JUFE-105.

Speaking English is so embarrassing for me, haha. I have a bad lisp and a lot of (non) fans make fun of it so I prefer to just speak Japanese in my films. However, if asked by a director or given voice acting work for an English product, I would be more than happy to speak English! For now I just mix it especially at those “juicy” bits of the film where my brain melts and English starts slipping out.

Do you plan on starting an OnlyFans in the future?

Not at this time. I am putting in all of my effort into other projects, especially my YouTube channel. I do plan to make merchandise and photo books that I’ll sell in my official store. Censorship laws in Japan are really strict and I would feel really uncomfortable being asked to produce uncensored material with the risk of legal consequences.

You can find June's content on her website where she sells not only signed DVD's and polaroids, but has more information on events, YouTube, and more!