It's not dead. Not at all. Tokyo's virtual child porn bill will be back this fall.
Last month it was reported that the bill had been delayed. It was assumed that the bill was delayed indefinitely, but politicians have continued pushing it ahead. The bill, which proposes to revise provocative "visual depictions" of characters who appear to be 18 years-old and younger, has been met with tremendous opposition by those in the manga, anime and game industry.
Why does this matter? As translator Dan Kanemitsu points out, "Bureaucrats will have the power to decided what is 'wholesome for youth,' versus what is 'harmful for youth'."
On March 15, manga artists Go Nagai, Tetsuya Chiba and Machiko Satonaka appeared at the Tokyo Government Office to show their opposition to the proposed legislation. Nagai and Chiba are two of the most well-known living mangaka (manga creators) with Nagai responsible for magical girl manga Cutie Honey and robot manga Mazinger Z and Chiba for iconic boxing manga Ashita no Joe. Shojo manga creator Machiko Satonaka received a Lifetime Works and Cultural Activities award from the Japanese government. All three are big time, mainsteam Japanese mangaka, and their opposition to this proposed legislation shows just how unpopular it is with the manga industry.
At the March 15 meeting, Chiba told those gathered that the proposed legislation can be "freely" interpreted and would affect manga character "despite no living beings being hurt".
A vote for this June was set, but talks broke down when the parties proposed a revision of the definition of "nonexistent youths". According to website Anime News Network, the bill has been delayed until at least this fall.
According to Tokyo's Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety, the bill will not impact material that "merely" depicts unclothed children and specially pointed to a scene in children's manga/anime Doraemon that shows young girl character Shizuka-chan bathing.
Tokyo's '2D Child Porn' Bill Delayed to at Least Fall (Updated) [Anime News Network]