Yuma Asami - The Crazy Life Of A JAV Royalty - Vol. 2

In this two-part series on Yuma Asami, last week we got to know how her childhood traumas shaped her. From watching her peers struggle with all sorts of financial difficulties, having lost their business to bankruptcy, to discovering her sibling's demise. Until she landed in Tokyo, the metropolis that turns dreams into reality, and it certainly did so for Yuma. In this column, we'll navigate her journey from a budding JAV actress to her battle with a life-threatening disease and how she bounced back from it. It's nothing less than a fantasy of sorts, so stay tuned!

KA-2242, JAV cover of Yuma Asami's Debut JAV

When Yuma was made aware that she would not be exposed if she had gone down the cosmetic rabbithole to enhance her looks, she decided to focus on one of the two major JAV studios, but her agency at that time, persuaded her to sign contracts with both. Perhaps even the agency was desperate to get their hands on a 'big newcomer' who was sure to make a breakthrough since, at the time of her debut, receiving offers from two major JAV studios was kind of a big deal. Alice Japan & S1 collectively went on to release her debut JAV in July, 2006.

In the initial days of her career, Yuma admitted of being quite reluctant to make her debut, but having experienced the atmosphere on set, she believes she became more assured of her role as an expressive person; hence, she imbibed it into her acting.

Her reluctance to feature in a JAV had also to do with an image Yuma had made up of the industry in mind, that the adult industry was a little scary or shady. But, once she had a meeting to discuss the kind of filming they were going to do, Yuma was kind of taken aback. She was surprised to learn that they were going to be so meticulous about it.

She recalls, “Moreover, when I went to the set on the day of the shoot, there were many staff members there. I thought it would be like going to a love hotel and just going in, but I was surprised to find out that it was done in such a proper way."

Since there were so many people involved during the filming, she thought it would be rude for her to say she couldn’t do it. Yuma states, “This was no time for me to be shy.' I guess seeing the scene made my passion for the film flare up."

Yuma recalls that during my first shoot, she had to shoot an interview scene. On being asked what kind of an actress she wanted to be, Yuma answered, “When I'm lonely or in pain, I want to cheer people up with my smile. I thought it would be nice if I could give people a little bit of power. That is something I still cherish as Yuma Asami."

As expected by her agency, her popularity skyrocketed right after her debut. In her first year of doing porn, her JAV sales ranked higher, and she had won various awards by that time, which led to Yuma expanding her portfolio of activities, including an appearance in a drama series within just six months of her industry debut. This came with a few sacrifices; since Yuma started becoming too busy with work, it kept her away from pursuing her dream of saving up to study abroad. To make up for this, she gradually transitioned into taking up the role of who we know today as 'Yuma Asami’. She recalls that the name was given to her by her manager back then, so she decided upon 'Asami' because it didn't sound like any other actress’ when she inquired about it.

Yuma Asami in her Ebisu Muscats avatar pictured second from right, front row

For our readers, who aren’t aware of Ebisu Muscats, it is an idol group based out of Japan and credits its beginning to TV Tokyo's late-night show 'Onegai! Muscat'. Though a J-pop band on the surface, the group became popular for its members, which were mostly adult stars and gravure idols at the time who struggled to break into mainstream channels, but the late-night show gave them an opportunity of a lifetime.

Yuma recalls that her first show was an absolute disaster, to the point that she actually went home crying after recording, “I was scared of variety shows. I didn't know what to do at all.” At first, she felt like she had to make the audience laugh somehow which was far from her forte, but she wanted to leave something behind for the audience. But then, she had been assigned catchphrases like 'the energetic face of the program' and 'the tearful diva', which made the job easy to a certain extent. Now, Yuma felt like she had characters to associate with.

She explains that in AV, one plays a certain character to lure men. But in the Muscat’s late-night show, they were made to act up a certain way, like wearing pantyhose and getting their faces messy by having pies thrown at them. It was more demanding than AV, and Yuma felt conflicted at first about whether she could do it in front of her fans. There were certain aspects of it that were funny as well, like a section called 'Tearful Recital', which was received with great laughter by fans. “I had never been praised for being funny before, so I was happy. Only Ebisu Muscats could be erotic, cute, and funny at the same time. For me, it was a 'second youth'."

Yuma admits she has always liked working. Even when she was in high school, she worked every waking moment to study abroad. But when she tried to prioritize Ebisu Muscats break-up concert over her medical treatment, a comment from her boss hit her hard. “I really cherished Ebisu Muscats, so I wanted to attend the break-up live in any way I could. I thought it would be easier to forget about my illness if I was performing. I told my boss that, and on the contrary, his reply was, 'Your job now is to cure the disease'. Those words made me think, 'If I don't face my illness now, I won't be able to do anything in the future'."



In February 2013, a decade later, Yuma’s doctor put her on chemotherapy. For the uninitiated, the drugs used during this treatment have side effects such as nausea, hair loss, bone marrow suppression, and reduced WBC count. Normally, she would not be able to work.

Meanwhile, the break-up concert was on April 7th, that same year. There was little to no time for Yuma's recovery, so the doctors had to adjust the schedule of her treatment so that the side effects would settle down just around the time of the break-up concert. For Yuma, she likes to quote it as a truly 'life-threatening live performance'. "I didn't care if I was going to die; I just wanted to be at the break-up concert. I was just starting to lose my hair, but I thought that if it was just hair loss, I could go on the show if I wore a wig.”

The break-up concert lasted two days, and Yuma’s performance was on the second day. For a concert of that scale, it was a long show—seven hours in total. On the other hand, Yuma had only just come out of surgery. “To be honest, it was hard on my stomach wound. But the moment I went out on stage and said, 'I'm Yuma Asami', the fans went wild. Then I felt invincible; I didn't mind at all; I realized that the cheers alone can give me strength." It was indeed a moving experience for Yuma.

“If I hadn't become Yuma Asami, I wouldn't have had that experience.” she admits with a sigh.

Yuma during the launch of her book, Re:start

It has been more than five years since Yuma discovered her condition and got treated. Since then, she has had no recurrence and is currently enjoying sound health. Although she has long bid her goodbye to adult film acting, it’s also fascinating how she has also fulfilled her dream of studying abroad. Yuma now splits her time between her personal life and her musical career. She says, “I used to be an adult film actress and suffered from a serious illness. It's hard to cast me as a TV personality. And yet, I was even allowed to make my CD debut. I am really grateful to the people around me, including the staff."

There was a point in her life when she often wondered if she had any real value in life. In those days, she recalls, she used to maintain a diary while simultaneously fighting a life-threatening disease. In one of them, she wrote, 'Asami Yuma is not finished yet'. Yuma takes a deep breath and exclaims, “My life so far has been full of things that I never expected. So I don't know what will happen in the future. That's why I want my fans to look forward to seeing more of me in the future." Subsequent to her recovery, Yuma went on to write a book on her battle with the disease, titled Re:Start, sort of a memoir on her life and produced a full blown music album, Scar Light.

After overcoming her illness, it’s likely that Yuma has discovered a new life, has grown as a person, and now shines with a new radiance. I am sure that she will continue to inspire people with her brilliance.

If you found this column interesting, make sure to follow us on X & drop a comment down below. You can also follow Yuma on X, if you're super into post retirement lives of JAV stars. She occasionally posts of her escapades and her music career on the platform.