Manga Exempt from New Child Porn Laws in Japan
An article in the Guardian reports that a new law banning the possession of child pornography is being drafted by the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, but that many groups may be mad about it– because it exempts manga and animation. The legislators say they’d like to ban it, but that it’s hard:
“We would like the revised law to cover manga, but it is extremely difficult,” Yuka Saito of Unicef’s Japan office told the Guardian.
“We keep encountering arguments about freedom of expression, but if the US and other countries can ban that kind of material, why does Japan continue to tolerate it?”
However…
Manga belonging to the popular “lolicon” - Japanese slang for Lolita complex - genre are likely to escape the ban, as MPs are concerned that outlawing them could infringe on freedom of expression and drive men who use them as an outlet for their sexual urges to commit more serious offences.
I’m inclined to agree with this assessment. A rant follows regarding America’s drawn child pornography laws which I’ve probably written up before…
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