United Nations special envoy on child protection, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio is urging Japan to include manga under child exploitation laws despite protests from manga artists that saying it will stifle creative expression.
“When it comes to particular, extreme child pornographic content, manga should be banned,” de Boer-Buquicchio said. However, the special envoy did acknowledge that “finding the right balance” between artistic freedoms and the need to protect children is complicated, “I accept that the freedom of expression argument should prevail when it comes to adult pornography.”
De Boer-Buquicchio condemned the law for being too lax with “numerous loopholes” and singling out the “child erotica” to prove her case. She laments, “All these are obviously lucrative businesses. What is worrying is that there is a trend which seems to be socially accepted and tolerated,”
Last year June, the Japanese government finally passed the law banning possession of child abuse imagery after years and years of bitter argument. But much to the disappointment of the campaigners, the government choose not to include anime, manga and games under this new law. It is easy to see why as the manga industry alone worth US$10 billion (RM$42 billion) now.
Manga publishers and artists resent the accusations, calling it an overt attack on their freedom of expression and they also fear of authorities dictating about art arbitrarily. Dan Kanemitsu, a manga translator accused de Boer-Buquicchio of “mixing reality with fiction” – unable to differentiate the abusive images of actual children and depictions of childlike characters in mangas.
“There is no such thing as manga and anime child pornography,” he said, “Child pornography entails the involvement of children, and we must confront it for that reason. [De Boer-Buquicchio] meant sexualised depictions of childish looking characters in manga and anime. Many male and female artists in Japan draw characters in an art style that looks childish to western eyes. Therefore it is a rejection of an art style popular in Japan.”
He also felt that Japan’s resistance to include anime, manga and games under the child porn law did not damage its international standing, “I think many people will see the logic of protecting free speech, as long as no actual people are harmed,”
However, some campaigners are not buying this argument. For example, Shihoko Fujiwara, head of NGO Lighthouse said this to AFP, “Materials of children under 18 that were clearly created for the purpose of fulfilling sexual excitement should be regulated as child pornography,” then she continues, “We should teach children about sexual crimes at schools.”
So what is your stance on this issue? Did you think manga, anime and games should be regulated under this legislation or not?
By the way, on somewhat relevant note, watch this short documentary by VICE Japan below for some perspective:
Photo credit: Flickr
