The Adventure of Link
Koakuma ageha – The P & J tapes
Crucial conversation on the socio-psychological pathology behind the Koakuma hostess gyaru.
Road to the Deep East L.T.U. Part2.1 – Can you live without children?
Recovering Lolita maniac bemoaning the coming criminalization of possessing child porn in Japan. Anyone know why the possession of child porn wasn’t already illegal? Is the pedophile lobby much stronger here or the PTA much weaker? Once they pass this thing and the 9-year-old-with-extreme-cameltoe genre loses its commercial magic, I fear the economy of Akihabara may take a huge hit.
February 25, 2008 at 11:51 pm
It is my understanding that child porn has been illegal in Japan under the generic “obscenity” banner (that is, if the cops wanted to go after it, as they did with some kiddy porn blue movies in the 1950s and 1960s) that was used to smeg regular uncensored porn, some novels (once upon a time), etc. but that the push now is for a specific law so as to not make Japan look bad (ie. being in the same club as Russia).
February 26, 2008 at 10:06 am
Your answer seems to say, “The Japanese government doesn’t actually think a mild level of child pornography is bad, but is changing the law for external PR reasons.” The total inaction until recently against most of this U-15 stuff seems to support that conjecture.
February 26, 2008 at 10:56 am
I’m not sure that it is a big “g” government thing. The police have typically taken the lead in determining what is obscene. They can technically arrest people for possessing uncensored pornography of any type or whatever they like, really (just like Lady Chatterley’s Lover was decided to be obscene in the 1950s). Someone somewhere has decided that the 9 year old camel-toe is okay (and that person should be beaten with a sock full of nails). But there is a reason why you didn’t see magazines with 9 year-olds performing sexual acts on shelves in the 1980s or 1990s (before relevant laws were passed) – the police do crack down when things pass a certain arbitrary line (a line that I think should be expanded to include all sorts of sexpolitation of children as well as kiddy porn manga for that matter).
You asked “Anyone know why the possession of child porn wasn’t already illegal?” It technically was illegal just like other obscene material is technically illegal. The problem was that it was left up to the police to arbitrarily define what consisted of child porn. The government certainly didn’t do anything to encourage a crackdown so is guilty by inaction. I’m glad that this contradiction has been done away with and I hope that it drives away all sorts of U-15 stuff.
I also think that it is foreign pressure, not domestic lobby (seems to be a relative non-issue in the Japanese mainstream) and a desire to look “good” that has resulted in a specific law.
February 26, 2008 at 9:33 pm
What’s a cameltoe?
February 27, 2008 at 5:39 am
“What’s a cameltoe?”
Type it into Google for a rude surprise.
February 27, 2008 at 7:11 am
The Akibanana carries a related article about doujinshi and obscenity laws:
http://akibanana.com/?c=html&s=more&id=119
February 27, 2008 at 7:13 am
Second article from the same site here:
http://akibanana.com/?c=html&s=more&id=120
February 27, 2008 at 11:16 am
I think the Otaku are getting to be like the Gun Rights Lobby in the fact that they complain about the U-15 idol crackdown (photos of real people) as the first step to a crackdown on cartoons (drawings). I think one can happen without the other.