In an interview with the Post, she said she also hoped to change Hongkongers’ attitudes towards sex, porn and individuals who go online willingly to sell risqué photos or X-rated videos of themselves.

“I hope to be an influential woman,” she said. “Once you have done something others cannot do, people will think what you say has influence.

“I hope that through my debut in pornography, I can change how society sees adult film actresses, people who sell pictures, or do other work. I hope they won’t disrespect them or step on them.”

So, believed to be the first Hongkonger to join Japan’s porn industry, signed up with adult film studio Faleno.

Her announcement sparked a wave of support from Hongkongers. The studio’s website was reportedly so inundated by visitors that it crashed.

Someone also sent out a fake “press release” purportedly from culture minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung congratulating So, and it was widely circulated online before his bureau clarified that no such release had been issued, and made a police report.

Surprised by the public response, So said she had received messages of support from Hong Kong women too.

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That was a change from the criticism that came her way after she began selling revealing photos of herself online.

Pleased by the encouragement, she said some supporters told her they admired her “bravery”.

But So recalled past controversies over reports that Hong Kong rapper Tyson Yoshi was found following Japanese porn stars on his Instagram account.

She felt that reaction revealed Hong Kong’s conservative attitudes.

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“Why must we see this as a taboo?” she asked. “We are all people, we all need to make love. Why should we think this is something we should be ashamed of?”

Two academics told the Post that So’s revelations ran against a strong streak of conservatism in the city.

Lingnan University research assistant professor Yvonne Yau Hoi-yan, who focuses on pornography, gender and sexuality, said Hong Kong’s relatively small size meant individuals could not avoid constant moral pressure from family and friends.

In contrast, Japan’s thriving porn industry reflected different cultural attitudes to sex, its larger geographic area which allowed people to enter the industry without family and friends knowing, and the prospects of earning money and gaining fans.

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In Taiwan too, she said, the government had adjusted its policies to allow a local adult film industry to grow and its society had a more open attitude to sex.

But Yau thought it would be hard for So to change attitudes in Hong Kong.

“I don’t think anyone takes her declaration of hoping to bring about change seriously,” she said, adding “only a very small minority” in Hong Kong were likely to change their views about sex and those who used their bodies to earn a living.

She said some fundamental attitudes would be hard to change in Hong Kong, including that men took the lead in initiating sex, while women were more passive.

“Such views cannot easily be changed by a phrase, a book, a talk or even a discussion by a few people,” Yau said.

Associate professor Diana Kwok Kan, a veteran social worker and sexuality education researcher at the Education University of Hong Kong, said there was a difference when issues related to sex were discussed in formal and informal settings.

Discussions at the level of government policy or education were decidedly more conservative than over social media, where people spoke openly and offered varied views on everything from LGBTQ issues to extramarital affairs.

She noted that the influence of Christianity and its institutions had created more conservative attitudes to morals in the city. Added to this were traditional Chinese values emphasising marriage and having babies to carry on the family name.

Kwok agreed, however, that So could gain influence with her career move in Japan, rather than in Hong Kong.

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For the aspiring star, an only child who grew up in Hong Kong, family remained an issue she sometimes struggled with, she said.

She did not think her parents would approve, and they had not been in touch since she made the announcement.

She said: “It will be impossible to get the approval of everyone, why don’t I just do something that I want to do?”

But So said she did not expect to be a porn star only, and would not have achieved her goals after completing two adult videos.

She hoped porn stardom would be a stepping stone to roles in regular films and television series too.

“I really do enjoy this work, I hope I can act until I can’t any more,” she said.