There's a market for this in Japan?

Naked News, the news channel which features, well, naked women reading the news, is apparently making its debut in the Land of the Rising Sun this week. The service has been available in North America, Europe, and Australia since 1999.

This wouldn't really be remarkable, except for the fact that the people who came up with the concept seem to have just now realized that there was a market for this sort of thing over there:

"We would not have dared to come to Japan unless we were convinced that there was a definite market, and we now see there is a massive market here..." eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. CEO David Warga said.

I mean, who could've forseen the idea that the people who brought us Hentai, vending machines selling used panties, and this kind of DEFINITELY NSFW extragaganza would enjoy naked ladies reading the news?

Anyway, the article goes on to say that they're initially going to provide their regular content with Japanese subtitles before branching out into original Japanese content. First, though, they've got some other issues to work out:

Another area being tested concerns the degree of nudity of the presenters. Initially, newscasters will strip to their underwear, but [Sunrise Corp. CEO Takuya] Uchikawa indicated that he hopes to be able to see how far Japanese obscenity broadcasting laws can be bent before they are broken.

You know, I don't use the word "hero" very often, but...

Oh, and just in case you were worried that you won't be getting serious information from the ladies at Naked News, check out Canadian-born presenter Lily Kwan, certified genius:

"I love being able to go out onto the streets and take my clothes off," she said. "While we have been in Tokyo, people have been very surprised to see us with no tops on, but they're very happy and interested in talking to us."

For real, Lily? I never would have guessed.