Tokyo Metro Gov. bring in the child porn amendment bill in congress to regulate Manga porn

12th March,Tokyo metropolitan government submitted amendment bill of ban on child porn, to metropolitan assembly.
The bill provides that traders should ristrict voluntarily mangas,animes, and games describing porn of under 18 yearsold children, and products contending anti-social expression was prohibited. The administration committee of the congress will adopts the bill on 19th.
According to the government, the purpose of the bill is response to situation that harmful mangas animes and other contents dipicting children's porn are free; it is first time challenge for "unreal children's porn". In other hands, some critics insist that the bill may causes "violation for free of expression".

By the Bill's definition, "Unreal Children" seem under 18 yearsold by their cloth, belongings, or school grade in mangas, animes, and games etc. And the bill request for traders to stop voluntarily selling and opening thier porn.

Especially, the government may define contents including extremely immoral expression, for example rape, as "immoral books", and restrain it.
FUJIMOTO Yukari, Associate Professor of Meiji University, comment that the government could apply arbitrary the bill because criteria whether characters are under 18 yearsold or not, or what is immoral are very vague.

2010/03/12 17:57 Kyodo News

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201003/CN2010031201000762.html

野放しの漫画児童ポルノを規制へ　都条例改正案、反対論も
　東京都は１２日までに、１８歳未満と判断される子供への性行為を描写した漫画やアニメ、ゲームソフトを業界の自主規制の対象にした上で、反社会的な内容の商品は青少年への販売、閲覧を禁止する青少年健全育成条例の改正案を定例議会に提出した。１９日の総務委員会で採決される。

　都によると、「野放し状態」となっている漫画やアニメの児童ポルノ的な描写を規制するのが目的で、全国でも初めての試みという。一方、識者からは「表現の自由が侵害されかねない」などの反対意見も出ている。

　改正案では、漫画などで、服装や所持品、学年などから１８歳未満と判断される子供を「非実在青少年」と定義。こうした子供への性行為を描写した商品を、青少年に販売しないよう業界に自主規制を求めた。

　そのうち、強姦など著しく悪質な内容の商品は不健全図書に都が指定するとした。

　藤本由香里・明治大准教授は「１８歳未満とか、何が健全なのかの判断は、いくらでも恣意的に解釈できる」と危惧している。

2010/03/12 17:57 【共同通信】


OPINION by Shirokitsune
It's true that child porns are awful bad contents and they may harm weak and not clever children. but I think that there are two important points.
First, overflow of porn do not have certainly linkage to sexual crime. There are no data connecting between amounts of porn and rate of sexual crime. Yes, in case that child porn used real children, it was surely crime even if it did not occur any other effect. But, in case of Manga porn, who is victim? She (or he) is only "Unreal children" .
Furthermore, since we gave birth all kind of art, porn contribute to improve it. Few marvelous artists require crowds of not exllent artists. Porn has support their amateur artists. For instance, Ukiyoe is Jpanese proud tradittional art. Katsushika Hokusai or Kitagawa Utamaro are world-wide famous artists. In other hands, many artist earned their livelihood by making Shunga(Japanese sexual pictures in Edo period), and trid to be next Hokusai,or Utamaro.
Today, Japanese manga and anime sweep world subculture. Japanese Government Agencies, of course Tokyo metro gov. too, are promoting it and use it for their policies(activation tourism and local economics).
Japanese manga and especially anime culture are supported by very large amounts of amoteur artist genre, called Doujinshi. Many Doujinshi products contented sexual expression and child porn. But if they are banned, Doujinshi culture would suffer heavy damage, and number of Japanese anime and manga's comming generation artists would decrease.
One hand of Tokyo metro gov. promote anime, and the other hand crash anime. Isn't it contradiction?