Child pornography laws in Japan

Production, distribution and possessing for sale or distribution of child pornography depicting real children is illegal and strictly enforced.

Legal background
Japanese pornography is strictly restricted by the article 175 of the Criminal Code banning to sell, distribute, display in public and possession for sale of obscene objects since 1907. Pornographic films with clear view of genitals are illegal, thus, genital areas are pixelized in legal pornographic videos (see Pornography in Japan).

Article 34 of the Child Welfare Act is also applicable to child sexual abuse including child pornography and child prostitution since 1947.

The Criminal Code has been applied to child and adult pornography. In August 1993, a manager of a burusera shop who induced a female high school student to appear on an underground video called ura video (ja:裏ビデオ) was arrested on suspicion of possession for sale of obscene pictures, i.e., article 175 of the Criminal Code, and violation of article 34 of the Child Welfare Act.

Child pornography is banned in Japan by the Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. It was passed in the Diet of Japan in 1998, and enforcement started in 1999. It was amended in 2003.

The law is applied to hardcore, softcore, erotica, or artistic nude with no distinction. For example, the model of a famous nude photo book Santa Fe is 18 years old at the time of publication, however, she may be 17 years old at the time of taking the pictures. The Minister of Justice Eisuke Mori explained the photo book may fall under the category of child pornography if the model was 17.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography is ratified by the Diet in 2004 and enforced in 2005.

In 2003, the Japanese government updated its child pornography laws again to match those of the west, but this did not curtail the young idol and lolicon industry.

Junior Idols
Although not explicitly pornographic, media portraying young "idols" is a significant industry in Japan. Despite the lack of nudity, photobooks and videos of underage models in scant, tight fitting and revealing clothing are often taken to be provocative and pornographic in nature. Today, this industry remains lucrative, with The Japan Times reporting an estimated 3 million idol photo books sold between 2006 and 2007. Models are categorized under age groupings, ranging anywhere from 18 years of age (U-18), to as young as 3 years old (U-3). Child models in Japan are not seen in the same light as in the West, however, as some models are eventually offered acting, singing, or promotional careers.

Studios producing junior idol media are not exempt from current laws. After 2007, staffs and presidents of some video production firms were arrested on allegations that their productions overstepped the legal boundary at least a few times.

Simulated pornography
"Lolicon" is the slang term used in reference to the child porn industry, today this consists of drawn images in manga form and not real images of actual children (see simulated pornography). It is short for "Lolita Complex". Lolicon manga depict young girls in an erotic manner. The young boys equivalent is called Shotacon.

Figures for the total value of the simulated child pornography industry are hard to come by, but it is estimated that 30-40% of manga contains sexual themes or content. The age of consent in Japan is 13. Manga is a large industry in Japan, accounting for over $5.5 billion USD in sales alone in 2000; nearly a quarter of the total sales of all published materials in Japan. No regulations are in place to control images portraying sexual exploitation in manga and animated films.

In Japan, considerable debate exists regarding the legality of simulated child pornography. Supporters of legal control of simulated pornography claim to be advocate the laws of human rights and children's rights such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Opponents, such as the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (ja:日本弁護士連合会) also claims to be advocacy of the child rights pointed out the lack of evidence for commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and decreasing numbers in sexually motivated crimes.

Constitutionality of the laws were discussed since Article 21 of the Constitution of Japan guarantees freedom of speech, press and all other forms of expression. The definitions of obscenity, specifically written as "arouses or stimulates the viewer's sexual desire" in these laws are argued as ambiguous.

2008 police raids
In the first half of 2008, Japanese police took action against over 300 cases of child pornography. This was a 17 percent rise from 2007, and three times the number of legal actions taken in 2004. According to police, is a sign of increasing awareness when it comes to child sexual exploitation.

In regards to the crackdown, Takafumi Ozawa of the Japanese National Police Agency stated: "We are strengthening the crackdown on child porn as society became more aware of the issue, and child porn is getting rapidly copied and spread on the Internet".

Criticism of the Japanese government
In 2008, Ethel Quayle, an expert on child pornography issues, made a report to the Third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents highlighted that Japan was a major impetus behind child pornography worldwide. Tokyo has yet to review any of the laws currently in place making simple possession of child pornography legal in Japan, or more specifically the lack of laws punishing simple possession without the additional criteria of distribution.

In 2008, Toru Okumura (ja:奥村徹), a Japanese lawyer, complained that no organization or government body supported the victims of child sexual exploitation, pointing out the fact that there is no government budget to care for these victims.

Debate on simple possession control
Japan, along with Russia, are the only two member countries in the G8 that have not outlawed the simple possession of child pornography itself.

Today, the law permits the simple possession of child pornographic images if there is no intention of selling or distributing them. The United States ambassador to Japan has stated that Japan's lack of laws restricting possession of child pornography has impeded international efforts in the investigation of child pornography rings. In June of 2008, a bill proposing the ban on child pornography possession was submitted to the Japanese House of Representatives, where it was brought before the Diet in September.

In October 2007, a public opinion poll taken by the Japanese government showed that 86.5% of respondents favored regulation on art depicting child pornography, while 90.9% endorsed regulation of "harmful materials" on the Internet. Some harbor doubts about the opinion poll because of reports that the interview employs leading questions, and presents an inherently biased viewpoint. Non-government opinion polls indicate the opposite result, i.e. 10.35% in favor of punishing possession, and 47.71% against.

The Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito Party proposed to prohibit possession without distribution, but the Democratic Party of Japan presented a counterproposal to prohibit the　taking over from anyone. The House of Representatives was dissolved on July 21, 2009, therefore the proposals to revise the law on the table were withdrawn.

During the general election of the House of Representatives in August 2009, politicians' opinions were divided, as shown in answers to open letters from a civilian organization. . People who opposite to simple possession control have wariness of false accusation.