Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Trashes “Virtual Child Porn” Legislation
June 16th, 2010 | Published in Anime and Manga
On a recent update on ANN, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has rejected a proposed law designed to control and possibly eliminate depictions of “nonexistent youths” (under-aged manga and novel characters) in sexual acts. Tokyo’s General Affairs Committee had already voted against the bill on Monday, two days earlier than the Assembly.
The Metropolitan Government Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety had originally campaigned for the bill’s passage in March, but it met very vocal opposition from manga artists, novelists, and other writers. 1,421 manga creators, 10 publishing companies, the Japan Pen Club, the Japan Cartoonists Association, and the Writers Guild of Japan were united in their calls for the bill to be dumped.
However, this is not a complete victory by the authors over the “Virtual Child Porn” bill. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government under Governor Ishihara will revise the bill and re-introduce it in September.
