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JAPAN - POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
IS NOW ILLEGAL IN JAPAN, BUT DEPICTING CHILDREN AS SEXUAL OBJECTS IN
CARTOONS OR ANIMATIONS IS NOT - GIRLS
By Sawa Omori* - August 11, 2014
The sale of pornographic materials is rampant in
|
In June,
Societal acceptance?
People in
In such a porn-inured society, it is difficult for the Japanese public to perceive that treating children - mainly girls - as sexual objects is a grave concern. Hence, though more than 90 percent of the public supported outlawing the possession of child pornography, according to a public opinion survey conducted by the government in 2007, people tended to passively tolerate it, rather than pro-actively want to take effective measures against it.
Perhaps this attitude stems from the fact that
This is despite a law passed in 1999 which banned the production, distribution and sale of child pornographic materials. In 2004, that law was expanded to include material distributed through all forms of media, including the internet.
Under the new law passed in June, banning the possession of child
pornography, any person found with photos or video of children can be jailed
for up to a year or fined up to $10,000. Disgracefully,
But because the ban does not apply to animated cartoons, comics cartoons and games, anyone can access sexually abusive images of children depicted in manga through the internet or at stores. As long as real children are not involved, their genitals not shown, any violent, sexual act against children can be portrayed.
There are calls for promoting research on the effects of manga and anime on sex offenses against children to be included under the new law banning possession, but certain quarters have objected to it and have staged campaigns against it. The publishers of manga books have argued that it threatens freedom of expression, while the Japan Federation of the Bar Association and other civil society groups have expressed concern over the possibility of wrongful arrests by overzealous police.
The ban on child pornography originally included a by-law which promoted research into the relationship between the consumption of manga or anime, and sex crimes against children. But this by-law was dropped due to fierce opposition from pro-manga civil groups, publishers and other parties.
Another reason that might explain why attitudes are lax towards
the sexual objectification of children, is the lack of women's equal
participation in politics. This tends to reinforce male-dominated policies in
parliament. According a 2013 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report,
Remaining unresolved issues
Criminalising the possession of child pornography is surely a victory, but besides manga, there are other objectionable practices not covered by prospective laws, which are a part of popular culture. One such example is the so-called junior idols, pubescent or prepubescent models wearing bikinis or lingerie - often featured in magazines or DVDs. While some of the more explicit material would be illegal under the revised law, many of them do not meet the criteria of child pornography because no genitalia is shown or erogenous zones emphasized.
For too long, our children have grown up in a society that thinks nothing of putting them in suggestive poses. This has to stop, and they should not be the ones to bear the ill-effects of these images. So legislation protecting children from all forms of sexual objectification should be introduced for their safety.
*Sawa Omori is a Senior
Associate Professor of Public Policy of the Department of Politics and
International Studies at International Christian University, Tokyo.