This week, it was announced that Japan finally outlawed child pornography. The ban does not cover 2D sexualized representations of children in manga and video games. CNN International wonders why.
http://gawker.com/japan-bans-possession-of-child-porn-excludes-anime-and-1593017108
On Twitter, CNN International posed the following question:
Note that, at the time of writing, Kotaku has attempted to select responses that show the variety of reactions. Moreover, these types of manga, anime, and games are not mainstream in Japan.
@cnni Cartoons aren't people #Duh
— sen (@Kimotakai) June 18, 2014
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479148909160583169
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479251119315898368
@cnni It's line and dots. Why do you think line and dots is human?
— sid/シド🟦🟥 (@tribekids) June 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479267696740433921
@cnni Shooting people is illegal so why do we allow shows and games with murder in them?
— Arkana (@DestroyedArkana) June 18, 2014
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479230899913887744
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479148528573239296
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479300443492061184
https://twitter.com/embed/status/479232636863655936
@cnni @AriaAkariCo THINK OF THE IMAGINARY CHILDREN! XD
— Purikyaa Wahaha~ (@kyaathecatlord) June 18, 2014
@cnni @otakulawyer Because the Japanese has not abandoned the common sense to distinguish between real children and fictitious material.
— 山口貴士 aka無駄に感じが悪いヤマベン (@otakulawyer) June 18, 2014
Many of these tweets have been translated into Japanese for the country’s net users. The issue of freedom of expression surrounding this sort of imagery has been a hot topic online for the past few years.
In the comments sections of many popular Japanese blogs, such as Hachima, many agreed with these tweets, being surprised that some foreigners seemed to share the same opinion. One commenter on 2ch, Japan’s largest forum, pointed out that this isn’t simply a male thing: “There are women who draw these manga, read them, and play these games.”
“These. Are. Just. Drawings,” wrote another blog commenter online. “Why don’t you guys say this after you lower your crime rate first,” replied yet another, with one commenter adding, “Yanks picking fictional Lolita regulation over gun regulation.”
A few others either didn’t care or mentioned how they thought “creepy otaku” were gross and were okay with increased regulation.
The argument for many might not actually be defending sexualized depiction of kids in comics, but rather, freedom of expression. Regarding that freedom, whether it’s sexualized comic books or violent video games, where, and forgive the pun, do you draw the line?
CNN「日本は児童ポルノ単純所持を禁ずるのに、なぜ漫画は許されているのか」[2ch]
Photo: Takamex/Shutterstock
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
