Japan’s Tokushima Prefecture spent 420,000 yen to buy sex dolls to showcase its specialties and promote tourism.

Officials from the Tokushima Prefecture government in Japan spent 424,440 yen (about 20,000 yuan) to buy stunning simulation sex dolls for the airport to showcase the county’s traditional indigo dyeing art. They believe the sexy dolls can attract tourists more than ordinary models.

Tokushima Prefecture buys sexy dolls to display specialties to promote tourism. Photo from: Tokushima Prefectural Government promotional materials

However, in early 2024, local auditors adopted a negative opinion and even criticized the Tokushima prefectural government for purchasing “expensive” sex dolls to promote the city’s tourism industry. District auditors called the doll “extremely expensive” and “unsuitable.”

According to the Japanese report “Mainichi Shimbun”, the tourism policy department of Tokushima Prefecture said it paid 424,440 yen (about 20,000 yuan) for the sex doll, which was used for a tourism exhibition at Tokushima Awa Mai Airport. The purpose of this exhibition is to promote the prefecture’s traditional art of indigo dyeing, and the dolls wear summer kimonos to benefit the indigo dyeing charity.

Sexy dolls at Tokushima Airport demonstrate the art of indigo dyeing. Photo from: Tokushima Prefectural Government promotional materials

The Tokushima Prefectural Government initially used two ordinary mannequins instead of sex dolls. The rental price of these two mannequins is about 27,000 yen (about 1,300 RMB). But an anonymous local official decided to replace the mannequins with beautifully designed sex dolls. Then, they started buying the sex doll, thinking that it would be very popular and cause a heated discussion on the Internet and become an Internet celebrity.

The Tokushima Prefectural Government initially used ordinary human models to demonstrate the art of indigo dyeing. Photo from: Tokushima Prefectural Government promotional materials

But local auditors rejected the county’s argument that sex dolls were more effective at attracting tourists than regular mannequins. Auditors said in their report that the “extremely expensive” doll was “highly incompatible with social norms.”

Auditors have given the county government until June 19 to punish officials involved in the sex doll purchase decision and impose fines to cover local financial expenses related to the sex doll purchase.

“As a local leader, I will take the audit results seriously and handle them strictly,” Tokushima Prefectural Governor Goda Masajun said in a statement.

This is not the first time Japanese officials have stirred controversy over the use of public funds to make bizarre purchases. In May 2021, authorities in the seaside town of Noto were criticized for spending nearly 25 million yen on a giant squid statue. Officials funded the statue using some of the 800 million yen in COVID-19 relief donations it received.

“Since the national government said the funds could be used to enhance the region’s attractiveness, we thought it would be good to do something like this to increase influence,” a Tokushima prefectural official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

“This will boost tourism in our cities and bring economic benefits to local residents, as visitor numbers have declined significantly.”

Reference: Japanese city faces backlash for using sex doll to promote tourism