Japanese City's Controversial Tourism Stunt With $2,800 Sex Doll Draws Criticism

Tokushima City and its prefectural government in Japan drew criticism for spending over $2,800 on a sex doll used to attract tourists. This bizarre expenditure, part of a $18,900 "Awa indigo charm promotion project," aimed to highlight the prefecture's traditional indigo dyeing art, according to Mainichi Shimbun's report. The project involved setting up a promotional area at the Tokushima Awaodori Airport, where the doll was put on display.

This decision has ignited controversy, with many questioning the appropriateness of using public funds for such a sexually suggestive tactic. Critics argue that it cheapens the prefecture's cultural heritage and raises concerns about how tourism initiatives are funded. While the project aimed to promote Tokushima's indigo dyeing art, the inclusion of a sex doll has overshadowed the intended message and sparked public debate about the ethics of taxpayer-funded tourism campaigns.

The exhibition aimed to showcase the traditional indigo-dyeing art of the prefecture, with the doll appropriately adorned in an indigo-dyed summer kimono, as reported by the Mainichi. Initially, officials utilized a pair of less expensive mannequins in the June 2017 exhibition, incurring a rental cost of approximately $180, as stated in the Mainichi Shimbun's report.

However, in July of the same year, an unidentified male official decided to replace the mannequins with the sex doll. Subsequently, he proceeded to acquire the sex doll, deeming it a crowd-pleaser for the exhibition, according to an audit report on the incident obtained by the Mainichi Shimbun. The decision to transition from mannequins to a sex doll has raised questions about the appropriateness of such choices in promoting traditional art and the use of public funds for such purposes.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, the auditors concluded that the use of the doll was "grossly inappropriate in terms of social norms" and "violated the local finance law," and urged the prefecture to consider seeking compensation from the officials involved by June 19. Governor Masazumi Gotoda released a comment stating, "While this is a case from before my tenure as governor, as the figure in charge of appointments, I will take the audit results seriously and handle them in a strict manner."