Tokyo Tries to Ban “Harmful” Anime & Manga
Creators and publishers of anime and manga are uniting in opposition to a proposed bill that would the sale ban publications that authorities deem “harmful” to youth:
Ten comics publishers, including industry powerhouses Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan and Kadokawa, collectively announced on Friday that they are withdrawing from participation in the Tokyo Intl. Anime Fair, the biggest event of its kind in the toon biz.
Kadokawa earlier made an independent announcement that it was ankling the event, which is skedded for March 24-27, under the sponsorship of the Tokyo city government.
The publishers, which call themselves “Comic Ten Companies Association,” oppose a bill submitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Nov. 29 that would tighten restrictions on so-called “excessive sexual depictions” in toons and comics sold to youths under the age of 18. Strongly supported by Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, the bill, opponents claim, threatens freedom of expression.
“We strongly distrust the position of Governor Ishihara and (Tokyo) municipal authorities, which lacks respect for comics and animation creators,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Ishihara made some remarks in favor of the ban, letting everyone know that he is disgusted by the idea of allowing homosexuals to appear on TV:
“Anyone who claims it’s not harmful to children to draw manga that features the sex life of married couples and the such are idiots. Tell them, ‘You need to go cool your heads.’” Ishihara responded to the Tokyo Parent Teacher Association’s December 3 petition in support of the bill by saying, “It’s not just about children. We’ve got homosexuals casually appearing even on television. Japan has become far too untamed. I’ll go forward with [this bill] with a sense of mission in heart.”
One of the top-viewed videos on YouTube Japan today shows Ishihara angrily reacting to a reporter’s question about Kadokawa Publishing Co.’s announcement that it would not participate in the fair:
Ishihara says he doesn’t care, but he probably should. If the bill passes assembly votes on Monday and Wednesday, the next Tokyo International Anime Fair is going to be like a ghost town.
To watch a lengthy Japanese discussion about the problems with Tokyo’s proposed bill, check out this video.
Update: The bill has passed the first round of voting. It still needs to pass a second round of voting on Wednesday, but it doesn’t look like there is much standing in the way of that.
A post by Brian Ashcraft has clarified some of the details about the bill:
But today in Tokyo, the second version of the bill went up for a vote and passed by the assembly with a final vote on Wednesday. As blogger Dan Kanemitsu points out, the ordinance is not national legislation, and is not a ban per se, but penalizes companies that produce material that is harmful to those under 18 years-old. Unlike in the U.S., companies that produce the material — and not retailers — come under fire.
The bill also does not target material that is 18-years-old and up as that material is already inaccessible to minors.
What’s also worth nothing is that the Tokyo government already has the power to dictate what, as Kanemitsu writes, is “too sexually stimulating for minors OR too sadistic for minors OR too likely to cause criminal acts among minors OR cause suicide among minors as ‘harmful material’, and force such material to be treated as adult only material.”
Regarding the new bill, the Tokyo government explains (via The Mainichi Daily News), “only manga and animation that glorifies or exaggerates illegal sexual acts will be subject to the regulations, and freedom of expression will not be violated.” This new bill attempts to define what is obscene — vaguely. Kanemitsu believes this is one way Tokyo is attempting to control what people read and view.
More importantly, the bill is directed at video games, anime and manga, but does not encompass novels, films, TV and photographs. Mediums that use real-life images are exempt.
So, it is not a literal ban, but by punishing companies that publish material that falls within its vague definition of harmfulness, it will try to force those companies to practice self-censorship. Tokyo is a very big market, and even if the bill doesn’t cover the whole country, many companies will only be able to produce one version of a comic book or video game, so the “censored for Tokyo” standard could become the national standard.
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