Tokyo's so-called Anime & Manga Ban
Recently, the government of Tokyo has pushed for passage of a law regarding "virtual depictions of illegal sex acts" - basically, the notion of the law was to combat illustrations/animations of sex involving minors, including acts of rape and abuse. This is, ultimately, a good thing on its face, in my opinion. But "virtual depictions" are a slippery slope. When legislation like this was proposed in the USA several years ago, it was debated that works like Nabokov's Lolita could fall under the definitions being used - it involves sex with a minor, for sure. Other concerns raised involved novels about child abuse (Bastard Out of Carolina comes to mind) getting caught in the crossfire.
Tokyo's new law (it passed in December) has been sold to the public as a method of protecting children and limiting their access to depictions of sex crimes and violence. Since then, the blogosphere has erupted with disdain for the law and wild hysteria (mixed with legitimate, valid debate) about "what this means for the future of anime & manga."
On Facebook, I recently stuck my nose into the discussion without doing my homework sufficiently. I deleted that post and have written this entry on my blog (being ported into Facebook via ATOM RSS feed) to rectify my former mistakes and basically share my 2 yen (as if anyone really cared). I'm mostly responding to what I saw as short-sighted arguments on both sides of the argument ("Oh my god, anime is dead!" hysteria on the one side and "oh, quit whinging, you otaku wimps - and stop defending child porn, too!" on the other side).
First, let's keep in mind: "Tokyo can ALREADY designate the following as harmful: 'Any material that may be detrimental toward the healthy development of youth because of their capacity to be sexually stimulating, encourages cruelty, and/or may compel suicide or criminal behavior.'" (June 14, 2010)
-- from http://dankanemitsu.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/nonexistent-youth-bill-defeated-in-committee/
Secondly,
So, actually, YES, it does explicitly mention "sex" IN THIS PARTICULAR LAW. It also deals with things like illegal marriages, which is another controversial subject but which is part of Japanese federal law, etc., and only offers support info here (check it out on your own - it's interesting - for example, you can't marry your mother-in-law if your wife and father-in-law die, along with the expected conservative prohibitions against same-sex marriages, etc.).
Here, I think fears about BL and Yaoi and the like are probably founded - rumors have it that some members of the government explicitly sought censorship of homosexual themes and situations. The other thing this new revision opens to scrutiny is NON-stimulating discussions of sex and sexuality, which is where an example of controversy over an adult character with a hangup due to sexual abuse, etc., comes in. Stories like Nana could be a thing of the past, if the mature themes they involve are put under more scrutiny than necessary.
The real problem I see is that the law explicitly EXCLUDES actual photography and printed text material. It's AIMED AT MANGA & ANIME but leaves other media alone. Living in Japan, we see magazines all the time featuring live women in bondage and rape situations, right next to fashion mags, gossip rags, muscle car monthlies, and ice cream. The bill does nothing to address that media, and focuses only on animation and illustration.
Next, the companies are required to SELF REGULATE first and foremost, and ONLY IF they are found in violation repeatedly, then they'll be forced to face sanctions. To be banned, though, requires action at a higher level. BUT - remember my first point above! Tokyo already has some significant power on this front, before this bill even passed.
And therefore,
http://otakudom.com/2010/12/13/tokyo-anime-manga-ban-passes/
There's no "Rating System" included here. What my friends are up in arms about is that now, the implication is left open to "etc." for people deciding if something is "rated G" or "rated R/X/NC-17" with no middle ground. There's no "PG" or anything else. Now, perhaps the body created to assess these matters will be lenient and allow "PG" content through. Probably. But they don't have to, and the law is suffiently vague that it ends up being based on one committee's opinion... should such a body be created.
But since the law as written now expects self-regulation to be expanded, I'm not sure I understand why "The generally expected form the law will take is that of a “amakudari” (a pervasive system of sinecures for retired bureaucrats) body which will inspect all anime, manga and games, with only those titles receiving approval as “healthy” able to be sold regularly in Tokyo shops – the rest will be relegated to the 'adult corner.'" from http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/12/13/tokyo-anime-manga-ban-passes/
Really? Why? The writer of the above quotation obviously has an axe to grind, esp. given the context of the post (http://www.sankakucomplex.com/) and the obvious coverage of ALL manga and anime including overly conspicuous images from Loli and other hentai media.
Ultimately, this is true:
"It's not a ban or a restriction of illegal pornography, but rather an expansion of what kinds of material the government can declare to be overly smutty."
from this link,
http://www.japanator.com/fffuuu-part-2-tokyo-anti-loli-bill-passes-for-real-17761.phtml
Tokyo Metro Government can already censor or control access to pornography, both photographic and illustrated. This bill changes the law so that it's not about sexual stimulation and titillation, but subject matter content restriction. If the government feels it's harmful to youth to have a representation of gay characters in a healthy and fulfilling relationship because they are gay, and same-sex marriage is against Japanese law, they can deem such a work to be objectionable - if the publisher fails to "self-regulate" suffiently. That's what's reprehensible here, though. This is a gateway to dictating what creative work can and can't be about and not what acts and body parts can be depicted.
And I'll defend the DPJ a bit. The Tokyo Metro Government is pretty hardcore on the conservative end of things. The governor of Tokyo, I'm sure most of my fellow gaikokujin know, is a colossally xenophobic and sexist dickhead. The DPJ did succeed in killing the original version of this bill back in June. That's the first time that's happened (defeating outright a bill proposed by the governor and the metro government) since 1998. They also succeeded in adding a caveat to the bill this time: "a short rider which requests 'prudent application of the law in light of any artistic, social, scientific or satirical merits the work might express'.” There's not much as far as teeth in that caveat, but it's there, and that's important for legal proceedings, for sure.
Finally, this is really important:
Japan's reputation for the weirdly sexual is somewhat dated (it's still something to consider) but when we in the West are confronted with statistics pointing in our direction (especially Americans), it's our responsibility to reconsider our notions about which societies promote perversion.
For my own part, I'll say this - I purchased a big phonebook-sized collection of manga once. I knew it contained some hentai along with the baseball, samurai, and other types of stories. I was SHOCKED to discover, though, that one particular story involved a woman being attached to a sex-related hypnosis/brainwashing/hallucination machine and seeing in her mind's eye hordes of preschool-aged little boys waiting in a line to have sex with her. Immediately threw that away... but I had been about to send it via mail to a friend in America. I can only imagine THAT customs inspection. GEEZ. So, yeah... no thanks on the manga child porn. But also no thanks on expanding government control over the CONTENT of our art and entertainment.
Tokyo's new law (it passed in December) has been sold to the public as a method of protecting children and limiting their access to depictions of sex crimes and violence. Since then, the blogosphere has erupted with disdain for the law and wild hysteria (mixed with legitimate, valid debate) about "what this means for the future of anime & manga."
On Facebook, I recently stuck my nose into the discussion without doing my homework sufficiently. I deleted that post and have written this entry on my blog (being ported into Facebook via ATOM RSS feed) to rectify my former mistakes and basically share my 2 yen (as if anyone really cared). I'm mostly responding to what I saw as short-sighted arguments on both sides of the argument ("Oh my god, anime is dead!" hysteria on the one side and "oh, quit whinging, you otaku wimps - and stop defending child porn, too!" on the other side).
First, let's keep in mind: "Tokyo can ALREADY designate the following as harmful: 'Any material that may be detrimental toward the healthy development of youth because of their capacity to be sexually stimulating, encourages cruelty, and/or may compel suicide or criminal behavior.'" (June 14, 2010)
-- from http://dankanemitsu.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/nonexistent-youth-bill-defeated-in-committee/
Secondly,
It is clear the authors of the bill also had mangafrom http://dankanemitsu.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/anime-and-manga-more-harmful-than-tv-and-films-according-to-tokyo/
and anime in mind, since they state specifically
that the new restrictions will not cover written text
and material involving real people, i.e. photographs,
TV and movies.
The new class material to be self regulated is:
Any manga, animation, or pictures (but not including
real life pictures or footage) that features either sexual
or pseudo sexual acts that would be illegal in real life, or
sexual or pseudo sexual acts between close relatives
whose marriage would be illegal*, where such depictions
and / or presentations unjustifiably glorify or exaggerate
the activity in such a way that they would impede upon
the formation of a healthy ability for judgement
regarding sexuality of youth and there by be
detrimental toward the healthy development of youth.
So, actually, YES, it does explicitly mention "sex" IN THIS PARTICULAR LAW. It also deals with things like illegal marriages, which is another controversial subject but which is part of Japanese federal law, etc., and only offers support info here (check it out on your own - it's interesting - for example, you can't marry your mother-in-law if your wife and father-in-law die, along with the expected conservative prohibitions against same-sex marriages, etc.).
Here, I think fears about BL and Yaoi and the like are probably founded - rumors have it that some members of the government explicitly sought censorship of homosexual themes and situations. The other thing this new revision opens to scrutiny is NON-stimulating discussions of sex and sexuality, which is where an example of controversy over an adult character with a hangup due to sexual abuse, etc., comes in. Stories like Nana could be a thing of the past, if the mature themes they involve are put under more scrutiny than necessary.
The real problem I see is that the law explicitly EXCLUDES actual photography and printed text material. It's AIMED AT MANGA & ANIME but leaves other media alone. Living in Japan, we see magazines all the time featuring live women in bondage and rape situations, right next to fashion mags, gossip rags, muscle car monthlies, and ice cream. The bill does nothing to address that media, and focuses only on animation and illustration.
Next, the companies are required to SELF REGULATE first and foremost, and ONLY IF they are found in violation repeatedly, then they'll be forced to face sanctions. To be banned, though, requires action at a higher level. BUT - remember my first point above! Tokyo already has some significant power on this front, before this bill even passed.
And therefore,
It is very difficult to objectively assess the scope of the law – along with vague and subjective terms like “interfere with the healthy development of youth,” the law also includes “etc.” on the end of most of its examples, leaving it quite unclear, for example, whether the “improper glorification of illegal sexual activity, etc.” applies to only virtual sex crimes, or all crimes in general – presumably the interpretation adopted will be whichever is convenient to censors.from
http://otakudom.com/2010/12/13/tokyo-anime-manga-ban-passes/
There's no "Rating System" included here. What my friends are up in arms about is that now, the implication is left open to "etc." for people deciding if something is "rated G" or "rated R/X/NC-17" with no middle ground. There's no "PG" or anything else. Now, perhaps the body created to assess these matters will be lenient and allow "PG" content through. Probably. But they don't have to, and the law is suffiently vague that it ends up being based on one committee's opinion... should such a body be created.
But since the law as written now expects self-regulation to be expanded, I'm not sure I understand why "The generally expected form the law will take is that of a “amakudari” (a pervasive system of sinecures for retired bureaucrats) body which will inspect all anime, manga and games, with only those titles receiving approval as “healthy” able to be sold regularly in Tokyo shops – the rest will be relegated to the 'adult corner.'" from http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/12/13/tokyo-anime-manga-ban-passes/
Really? Why? The writer of the above quotation obviously has an axe to grind, esp. given the context of the post (http://www.sankakucomplex.com/) and the obvious coverage of ALL manga and anime including overly conspicuous images from Loli and other hentai media.
Ultimately, this is true:
"It's not a ban or a restriction of illegal pornography, but rather an expansion of what kinds of material the government can declare to be overly smutty."
from this link,
http://www.japanator.com/fffuuu-part-2-tokyo-anti-loli-bill-passes-for-real-17761.phtml
Tokyo Metro Government can already censor or control access to pornography, both photographic and illustrated. This bill changes the law so that it's not about sexual stimulation and titillation, but subject matter content restriction. If the government feels it's harmful to youth to have a representation of gay characters in a healthy and fulfilling relationship because they are gay, and same-sex marriage is against Japanese law, they can deem such a work to be objectionable - if the publisher fails to "self-regulate" suffiently. That's what's reprehensible here, though. This is a gateway to dictating what creative work can and can't be about and not what acts and body parts can be depicted.
And I'll defend the DPJ a bit. The Tokyo Metro Government is pretty hardcore on the conservative end of things. The governor of Tokyo, I'm sure most of my fellow gaikokujin know, is a colossally xenophobic and sexist dickhead. The DPJ did succeed in killing the original version of this bill back in June. That's the first time that's happened (defeating outright a bill proposed by the governor and the metro government) since 1998. They also succeeded in adding a caveat to the bill this time: "a short rider which requests 'prudent application of the law in light of any artistic, social, scientific or satirical merits the work might express'.” There's not much as far as teeth in that caveat, but it's there, and that's important for legal proceedings, for sure.
Finally, this is really important:
Before Japan adopted child pornography laws in 1999,from http://dankanemitsu.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/something-people-overseas-can-do-fight-misconceptions-about-bill-156-and-japan/
there was a lot of real life child pornography or to be
more specific child sexual abuse material coming out of
Japan, but since the law was enacted Japan’s participation
in the production of child pornography sank like a rock.
As of 2009, the British watchdog organization Internet
Watch Foundation (IWF) reports Asia as a whole only
hosts 7% of child sexual abuse material being supplied
into the Internet.
http://www.iwf.org.uk/resources/trends#Location
North America is at 48% and Europe is at 44%.
[...]
Top 10 Nationality of Internet Paedophiles:
No.1 – USA at 22.3%
No.2 – Germany at 17.6%
No.3 – Great Britian at 6.5%
[...]
What about Japan? They’re way down at 16th place with 1.5%.
Japan's reputation for the weirdly sexual is somewhat dated (it's still something to consider) but when we in the West are confronted with statistics pointing in our direction (especially Americans), it's our responsibility to reconsider our notions about which societies promote perversion.
For my own part, I'll say this - I purchased a big phonebook-sized collection of manga once. I knew it contained some hentai along with the baseball, samurai, and other types of stories. I was SHOCKED to discover, though, that one particular story involved a woman being attached to a sex-related hypnosis/brainwashing/hallucination machine and seeing in her mind's eye hordes of preschool-aged little boys waiting in a line to have sex with her. Immediately threw that away... but I had been about to send it via mail to a friend in America. I can only imagine THAT customs inspection. GEEZ. So, yeah... no thanks on the manga child porn. But also no thanks on expanding government control over the CONTENT of our art and entertainment.
