Japanese people turn to silicone sex dolls for love (PHOTOS)

Moveable joints, parted lips, bouncing breasts, and skin with an incredibly realistic feel – around 2,000 silicone dummies per year are sold in Japan. While the lifelike dolls are primarily used for sex, they sometimes replace real romantic partners as well.

“You understand it’s a doll, but you feel as though it’s really alive,” says Noboru Tanaka, a sex doll vendor. He runs a website where customers can choose a model to their taste: full-size dolls or just the lower half.

“When you make love to your wife, there can be problems. With a doll, none of that matters.” The only problem is that the silicone lovers are cold, so some of the owners put them in a hot bath before bedding down with them.

Sex dolls don’t come cheap. Prices on Tanaka’s online store start at 320,000 yen ($2,860), but this doesn’t stop a growing number of men, women, and even married couples from buying them. 

Senji Nakajima says he’s happy living with three dolls instead of his wife, though the 62-year-old admits he could never have imagined such a lifestyle previously. Nakajima regularly goes out on dates with his favourite, Saori, taking her to a karaoke bar or to Mount Fuji for a photo shoot. To Nakajima, the silicone creation is the perfect partner – always in a good mood and happy to see him.

Hitsuji is a 20-year-old model from Tokyo who has a doll she’s named Masiro. In her teen years, she realized that she could never go out with a man. To Hitsuji, Masiro is not a friend or companion, but “a creature who accepts my love.”

To get an inside look into the lives of Japanese people who have developed unusual relationships with sex dolls, watch RTD’s new film, Substitutes.