Taiwan media loves Ai

SEX SELLS： The former porn actress was feted and interviewed by the country's journalists, after flying in from Japan to promote her best-selling autobiography

By Lin Mei-chun  /  STAFF REPORTER

Sat, Feb 03, 2001 - Page 2

Iijima Ai (飯島愛), a former pornographic film actress from Japan, caused a stir when she arrived in Taipei yesterday for a three-day visit to promote her autobiography at an international book fair.

On arrival at CKS airport, Ai was besieged by journalists who later packed a room in the World Trade Center, where the fair is being held.

Her book, Platonic Sex (柏拉圖式性愛) outlines the hardships she had to endure before she became "the queen of adult videos." The book was released last year and has sold more than a million copies in Japan. The Chinese version sold 50,000 volumes in Taiwan in just 40 days.

The 28-year-old is a sex fantasy for countless men both in Japan and Taiwan. She made her porno film debut eight years ago and made nearly 100 adult videos in the following two years.

Then, at the peak of her success, she left the business to build a career as a television actress.

Female social commentator Ping Lu (平路) said Ai's book has given fans of the former porn star a new insight.

"It is encouraging for people to read her autobiography because a camera can only capture one side of a person's character. But, her words will give readers a sense of empathy with her.

"By reading the book, we feel that beneath her dazzling appearance, she still lives with the nightmare inflicted upon her childhood, which needs people's compassion," Ping said.

Tsai Shih-ping (蔡詩萍), another social critic, said that from his viewpoint Ai was "the ideal sex fantasy for men."

"Her body perfectly combines the best features of Western and Eastern women -- and that appeals to the hearts of Asian men.

"She has the hourglass figure of a Western woman, but the golden complexion and submissive personality that takes the sexual fancy of Asian men," Tsai said.