Seems like lately Japan has been under a lot of international pressure to make real changes to the laws regarding to child porn. As it stands now, possession of child porn isn’t actually illegal - though the production and distribution of it is (this was only after in international pressure back in 1999 though). This is all due to change at the start of 2009, at which point possession will also become illegal. In addition, Unicef is campaigning strongly to outlaw lolicon manga - ie. drawing of minors engaged in sexual activity. I’m sure this is bound to cause a stir with loli-otaku the world over, but expect this to be pushed through without problem. A little on the extreme side though, they also believe that adult videos should contain no references to underage aspects, such as schoolgirl costumes. However, actresses that simply “look very young” will still be allowed to do whatever it is that they do. It all seems a little convoluted and badly thought through though if you ask me. Nearly everyone will accept that anything which in any way harms a real child is awful and should be punished to the full extent of the law - I would even personally go so far as to say the death penalty… but artistic depictions regardless of how fucked up they are? Even costume play for consenting adults? I suspect American fundamentlalist Xtians are at the heart of this…

Not that outlawing it will make any difference anyway. If anything, it will just be pushed underground. Like the sale of “junior goods” , which is incredibly hard to track down and prosecute, and is apparently on the rise. From the backstreets of Toyko, 3-4 photographic shots of a child being abused can be had for ¥5000 ($50) . The majority of the clientele are upstanding salarymen with wives and children.

Stay tuned for updates~

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