The bizarre event was staged after sexist heckling of a Tokyo assemblywoman hit the headlines, highlighting old-fashioned views towards women that still permeate Japanese society.
“I never thought my boobs could contribute to society,” said the ponytailed Serina, apparently unaware of any contradiction.
Sakuragi had no qualms about being groped by hundreds of pairs of hands.
“It’s for charity,” she said ahead of the event. “Squeeze them, donate money — let’s be happy.”
UN estimates show around 35 million people were living last year with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that can cause AIDS.
Just a fraction of them are in Japan, where a total of 22,971 people were known to be infected with HIV or to have developed AIDS at the end of 2013, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
But infection has shown no sign of abating with the annual number of new HIV/AIDS patients hitting some 1,500 in recent years, it says.
Japan has one of the developed world’s lowest rates of female workforce participation. A lack of childcare facilities, poor career support and deeply entrenched sexism are blamed for keeping women at home.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to create “a society in which women shine” and is expected to bring in more female faces when he reshuffles his cabinet on Wednesday.
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