there are proposals to expand the child pornography laws in japan to include “sexual depictions of non-existant characters under 18 – or who appear to be under 18″ – it’s under government discussion this month – but due to western pressure it’s obvious which way the vote will go – when passed it’ll come into force before the end of this year
the public of course do not get a vote on the matter – but it appears my name is cropping up in the virtual discussions – so i’ll restate the fact trevor brown art does not include sexual depictions of minors – certainly no sex
getting that out the way, the first point is: regardless of anything, the banning of art is totalitarianism, or at best backward thinking – but we’ve passed the apex of free-expression – enjoy the ride back to victorian values – new islam
needless to say these measures are being brought in under the guise of “child protection” – naturally a blind eye is turned to yakuza dealings in child prostitution, the real problem is apparently some kid looking at cartoons (and i believe it is actually mostly kids / young adults who are into this “loli” stuff – i don’t want to use the word immaturity but it is just a part of growing up?!) – and japanese schoolgirls decided themselves to wear miniskirts, no one forced it upon them, they don’t want our “protection” thank you – and, perhaps due to the lack of sexual repression (loli manga!), children are a million times more safe to walk the streets in tokyo than they are in new york
it’s jealousy isn’t it?! – the western world despise japan for being so clean, safe, polite, law-abiding etc – you won’t be happy until japan is just like you with your sexual angst, hypocritical values, fighting wars and whatever else it is that makes america so goddam great that we all must meekly follow – congratulations, you’re getting your brave new world – and, hey, rather than all this concern making laws about stupid comics, why the hell isn’t there a vote on whether WAR should be allowed or not???
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amendment:
having read a bit more it seems this law is tokyo specific – and relates (only?!) to the selling or distribution of material to children – so i think a false alarm?
a rough translation of the relevant clause:
Restriction of the Sale of Unhealthy Literature
[A ban on sales, lending or distribution to, or viewing by, minors in the Tokyo area would cover:]
1. Items which stimulate sexual emotions, foster cruelty, encourage suicide or promote crime, or otherwise impede the healthy growth of youth.
2. Items which through age, clothing, accessories, school year, setting, other people’s ages, or voice, seems reminiscent of a person who might be recognised as an under-18 (hereafter called a “a fictional minor”) engaged in, or appearing to be engaged in, sexual activity or activity resembling sexual activity, or which impede the development of healthy sexual faculties in youths, or which might be feared to obstruct the healthy development of youths.
it appears anime sites et al have been misinterpreting this as japan totally forbidding depictions of “fictional minors” – if that were really the case this would be a far bigger and more crazy issue!
This is such bullshit. I hope Japan doesn’t do it
Japan is supposed to be a safe haven for artists! However, does this also affect U-15 idol videos?
yes, it’s probably bullshit – my post amended!
This seems to be a backdoor attempt to impede the sale of a wide range of stuff to minors in Tokyo area. Nothing like the general ban proposal which was rejected last year. Still, could be quite nasty if accepted. Looking at the absurdly broad list of taboos, (“voices”? WTF!), this might be it’s undoing. So hopefully, it’s a false alarm …..
“…the public of course do not get a vote on the matter…”
not that it makes any difference – according to government polls (as much as THEY can be trusted!) almost the entire population of japan is totally for this art censorship
Japan does have a constitution which protects freedom of expression however, which has proved to be a constant irritation to hysterical moralists. Which is probably why they are trying this devious legislative route.
Wait, Japanese minors are currently allowed to buy what Americans would classify as child porn? According to that law it would seem minors are also allowed to buy regular pornography right of the counter to.
If this is considered okay, and has been for decades, and the country hasn’t been driven to civil war by this practice, then why should it suddenly become illegal overnight.
What was right or wrong before I went to bed will still be right or wrong after I wake up. Creating new ‘morality’ laws makes absolutely no sense if there is no visible sign of society collapsing the way things are.
porn is actually already restricted to over 18′s – but maybe x-rated manga isn’t? – this law sounds pretty suspect anyway – as cement bambi says, it seems to be a sneaky way of getting a foot in the door to introduce wider censorship
I’m certainly glad that the situation isn’t as grim as your initial prognosis suggests but it’s still a disappointing turn. I don’t quite understand why there isn’t more resistance to this sort of prohibitionist nonsense. Where’s the rancor? I don’t so much mean within Japan, as I don’t really have a good handle on their climate but I don’t understand why this counterproductive bullshit has legs in anglophone nations. To my own detriment, surely.
In terms of the distinction between ‘porn’ and associated ephemera, I’ve noticed that some porn for sale on Amazon (JP) will not ship outside Japan. However, nude posing, junior idol, and lolicon mags all seem to ship internationally suggesting that this kind of material of material is not-quite-porn. Perhaps it relates to the different connotations related to nudity, specifically, and representation in general. I’ve read that Japan has a different (to the ‘West’) cultural legacy in relation to nudity. It’s not read as something necessarily degrading but is something to hold in reverance (which isn’t to suggest there’s not plenty of room for degradation in Japanese porn) whereas the West tends to link nudity with the shame of the Fall (all apologies for dragging out the cliches). Similarly, comic books have a different place in Japanese cultural life rather than their confinement to ‘junk culture’ in the West. Further, the West doesn’t seem to really have a movement that resembles ero guro nansensu.
In light of these issues, I hope there’s a prolonged and articulate resistance to trying to change Japanese visual culture through the force of law, as making these changes would seem like a larger task than pushing Mike Diana around (for instance). I repeat my apologies for anything inaccurate/banal/stupid on my part.
You can relax now Trevor…. for the moment : )
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/03/19/tokyo-loli-ban-fails/
shintaro ishihara is behind this bill – a homophobe and nanking massacre denialist among other things – just read that he made his name in the 1950s as the author of salacious novels, involving sex among minors!
Something like a total ban of loli would be impossible in a capitalist, amoral country like Japan. It’s only when large populations really insist on totalitarian laws (like the anti-pedo scare from conservatives in America) that they’re reluctantly enacted and enforced. It’s not scary big governments trying to steal the people’s liberty but moronic pressure groups taking advantage of the (vaguely) democratic process.
Banning “loli” would mean a net loss in capital, and that would only be worth it if the alternative is social turmoil. So right now (if my understanding of Japanese society is correct) a ban like that is really unlikely. Maybe in the future, but isn’t social conservatism going down worldwide?
TLDR it won’t happen when it’s only a (relatively) small group “outraged” about it.
Doing a bit of research I found a worrying number of countries which have already introduced laws banning cartoon pawn featuring “minors”. The UK’s new law, Sweden’s, South Africa’s and the Philippines’ (introduced just last year) seem to be particularly spiteful pieces of legistaltion. So this issue isn’t going away soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_cartoon_pornography_depicting_minors
CM, don’t forget to add Australia and Canada to that list. Lest we forget the USA’s 18 USCS § 1466A – “Obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children”, which is a sneaky way of getting around problems with COPA and PROTECT…