These 8 countries all share the same fetish

It’s all about finding the things that connect us, right? According to PornMD, eight East Asian countries, despite their differences, do share one thing: A penchent for Japanese porn. 

The data shows that people from a country will most likely seek out porn starring other people of their nationality. In the Philippines, they search for Filipinos. In Indonesia, they search for Indonesians. In Vietnam, they search for Vietnamese. But in all countries, they search for “Japan.”

Though some American porn stars remain popular, especially in South Korea, in every single country, “Japanese” remains one of the most popular search terms. According to the data, 23 out of 55 terms had to do with Japan, leading researchers to determine that East Asia has a “Japanese fetish.”

Quartz reports that this may have to do with the massiveness of Japan’s porn industry, which accounts for 20 billion dollars alone annually and popularized anime porn and hentai/tentacle porn. In contrast, China produces almost no pornography. But the ubiquity of Japan’s porn industry has another effect; the Guardian reported in October that many young people in Japan have stopped having sex because it takes too much effort.

Their online pornography is so high quality, why even bother going out?

[Update: This article incorrectly said Japan’s porn industry accounted for $20 million; it is $20 billion.]

H/T Quartz | Photo by Yves Tennevin/Flickr