semi-serious post
Yesterday, I was alerted by mangatherapy that Tokyo Youth Ordinance Bill 156 becomes effective starting today. It is more casually known as the 'Tokyo Manga Ban'. There's a great, comprehensive and level-headed article about it over here. As it is a little long, I'm going to highlight some important points, along with other stuff I learn from forums and such.
From its formal introduction to its passage, the proposed bill has already sparked protests from publishers, studios and artists. The main issue here is free speech, but more specifically its power to police or shut down stories that touch upon social issues, political criticism and same-sex relationships. It may also encourage editors and publishers to be extremely conservative and cautious in determining what is fit to print.
Bill 156 is a piece of legislation passed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly last week that, among other things, tries to regulate content in anime, manga and video games. It grew out of efforts earlier in the year to create a bill that would restrict material depicting “nonexistent youth” (characters that were youths, or seemed like they were youths) in “anti-social” sexual situations or situations that would show such a character being sexualized in a positive way.
The man behind this bill, Ishihara Shintaro, Tokyo's governor and far-right politician, is known for his homophobic and misogynic views. Proponents of the bill argue that such regulation is needed to curb the excessive amount of lolicon materials out there and to prevent underage kids from obtaining them without parental consent. Opponents of the bill argue that while the bill is sold as a response to lollicon / sexually violent stuff, Shintaro's history suggests a different kind of motivation.
Below are his quotes:
“We have got homosexuals casually appearing even on television. Japan has become far too untamed.”
"Women living after losing their ability to give birth is a waste and a crime."
(Source 1, Source 2)
He's spoken other ( xenophobic ) gems as well, in addition to dismissing Rape of Nanking as fiction and attributing the recent earthquake to 'divine punishment.' ( Source: Wiki) Those may not be directly related to Bill 156, but it says plenty about his unsuitability to preside over matters of moral correctness. The man is the foundation of this bill, no wonder people are worried.
What happened if a series' content is found to be in violation of Bill 156? According to the ANN article.
The bill puts an emphasis on self-regulation, with the expectation that publishers will begin policing themselves. (However, this may be hard to do since the bill is still vaguely worded.) If a publisher runs afoul of the bill too many times, then they may face what is in essence a blacklist, with no distributors or retailers able to carry their products.
As to which series are caught in the crosshairs...
First of all, the bill has nothing to say about any manga or anime that's currently considered adult. All of those titles that are currently for sale only to people over the age of eighteen won't be directly impacted by this.
(...)
The bill also doesn't mention doujinshi and other works created by fans. Of course, a lot of doujinshi with sexual content are already for adults only, so it would have little effect even if the law applied to such fan creations. Also, the main punishment for breaking the law is removal of access to distribution and retail, which wouldn't really impact artists who may make more of their sales directly to fans at Comiket.
(...)
I don't think the majority of shounen series will experience much fallout from the bill. However, an emphasis on sex and relationships is more frequently seen in shoujo, josei, and yaoi manga, where both the creators and consumers are largely female. Although it seems gender-neutral on the surface, it could be women who feel the brunt of the enforcement of Bill 156.
So...food for thought. Also, jsyk, Sorachi has been trolling this bill like there's no tomorrow for some months now. He should run the Parliament.
( warning for homophobic & misogynistic quotes )