Child Pornography Manga-Style Must Go, UN Tells Japan

UN urges Japan to ban manga featuring child porn

Japanese manga store

© Yuya Shino
Reuters

The UN has called on Japan to crack down on manga cartoons containing sexualized images of children, while slamming an apparently “institutional” tolerance for sex crimes.

The United Nations has once again raised the burning issue of Japanese manga cartoons featuring “extreme child pornographic content” after a milestone last year when Japan, following other G7 nations, finally outlawed the possession of child pornography.

Speaking at Japan National Press Club on Monday, Dutch lawyer Maud De Boer-Buquicchio, a UN rapporteur on child prostitution and pornography, has praised the recently-introduced law, but also pointed out how it is stilled riddled with loopholes which permit manga comics and anime.

“I accept that the freedom of expression argument should prevail when it comes to adult pornography,” she said as her week-long visit to Japan came to an end, also noting that there must be a certain “balance” between freedom of expression and abusing children.

“When it comes to particular, extreme child pornographic content, manga should be banned,” she added.

Maud De Boer-Buquicchio, UN rapporteur on child prostitution & pornography

The possession of pornography featuring children was criminalized in Japan last year with an established fine of one million yen ($10,000) and a one-year imprisonment term. However, manga cartons are not on the list of banned images, so books and video stores are allowed to sell magazines or DVDs containing manga images of pubescent and pre-pubescent children if their private parts are covered.

De Boer-Buquicchio also noted that the impunity enjoyed by sex offenders in Japan is “relatively high” compared with other developed nations. She added that this, as well as “social and institutional tolerance” displayed towards sexual offenses, leave victims susceptible to repeated exploitation.

The call from the UN envoy has been met with anger from manga artists, publishers and free-speech advocates, who claim that the ban would give the government unlimited power to restrict art.

Dan Kanemitsu, a manga translator, urged not to confuse “fiction with reality,” saying that manga characters may look childish but are not actually kids.

“Many male and female artists in Japan draw characters in an art style that looks childish to western eyes. Therefore it is a rejection of an art style popular in Japan,” he told the Guardian.

Child prostitution in Japan has decreased with the introduction of the new law, however, pornographic materials are still widely spread online. De Boer-Buquicchio has expressed hope that the fight against the inappropriate content will be successful.

"I believe Japan can make substantial progress, if not completely eradicate, [the] sexual exploitation of children," she said.

Well, that's pretty ambitious, but an admirable goal.

Japan Reluctantly Bans Some Child Pornography

Japan has finally enforced a ban on the possession of 

child sex abuse images after years of pressure.

The law, passed by the Japanese Diet last year, means anyone caught with child sex abuse images will face a prison term of up to one year or a fine of up to 1 million yen (£5,170).

The legislation brought Japan into line with other industrialised nations after years of international pressure.

It is the last industrialized country to ban child porn. It's reluctance is obvious in the soft sentences, the long delay, and in the unwillingness to touch anime and manga. While banning real porn is a step in the right direction in that it doesn't encourage the sexual abuse of children in the making of kiddie porn, leaving anime and manga unaffected encourages men to fantasize about child sex abuse increasing the probability of actual CSA occurring.  Many may argue otherwise, but the reality is, sin is progressive!

Japanese legislators have waited a year to enforce the change to give people time to dispose of offending images. 

A year! A whole year! Nobody needs that much time to cleanse their homes and computers of child porn; a month should be plenty of time. The Diet was just being wimpy, afraid to rile the myriad perverts in Japan.

Anime depicting child abuse will not be outlawed  

Although production and distribution has been illegal since 1999, up until now, Japan was the only country within the 34 member OECD that permitted possession of these images, according to the Telegraph.

According to the National Police Agency, crimes relating to child abuse images have shot up in the past decade with at least 600 children a year falling victim to paedophile directors and photographers.

In a government survey in 2002, 10 per cent of Japanese men admitted owning images of children.

But campaigners have expressed dismay that manga and anime depicting child abuse will still be permitted after its publishers and opposition politicians said it would be a curb on free speech.

Masatada Tsuchiya, a member of the ruling Liberal Democrat party: “I believed we should go a step further and take a look at manga and animation in which children are sexually abused.

“Of course freedom of expression is important. And I love manga. But some of the things out there are so depraved they aren't worth defending.”

Manga is a Japanese word referring both to comics and cartooning

Kiyohiko Toyama, a member of the opposition New Komeito party, thought the law was a positive step telling Reuters at the time: “For too long, there was a poor understanding of children's rights. Ultimately, that's why it's taken so long.

“By outlawing the possession of child pornography with the intent to satisfy sexual interest, we make it harder for people to trade in such material.”