In a move to curb child exploitation, Japanese politician Masako Okawara submitted a petition to the 213th session of the Diet calling for stricter regulations on content, including manga and anime, that feature inappropriate depictions of child-like characters.

This initiative comes amid growing concerns about the increasing number of cases of exploitative material involving minors in popular media and the inadequacies of current laws to protect them.

Recent statistics have revealed that the number of arrests for child pornography crimes has not improved despite revisions to the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prohibition Act. The recent high-profile case of Your Name producer Koichiro Ito is a case in point.

Okawara’s petition urges the government to amend current laws, including the Prevention of Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Act, based on the 2019 recommendation of the UN Committee, criminalizing the “production, distribution, supply, sale, access, viewing and possession of images and representations of children, or persons who primarily appear to be children, engaged in explicit sexual acts, or representations of sexual parts of a child's body for sexual purposes“.

Currently, the law does not regulate images depicting sexual content in manga or anime – specifically including lolicon (depictions of young-looking female characters) and shotacon (depictions of young-looking male characters).

However, the petition particularly focuses on the aspect of the images used to make the characters look like children, which could prompt the government to look into it once again.

The debate surrounding “loli” and “shota” characters is intense, with critics arguing that such depictions contribute to a harmful culture that normalizes the sexualization of minors.

Defenders of the anime and manga industry argue that these characters are fictional and that regulating them would infringe on artistic freedom and expression.

This was evident in 2014, when a similar revision to the child pornography law was proposed, but faced significant opposition from the industry, which claimed that this would severely limit creative freedom.

Despite the precedent, Japan may consider regulating anime and manga content due to the alarming statistics surrounding the issue. Okawara's petition has garnered over 300 signatures.

In 2022, 86% of the victims were girls, with boys accounting for 14%, a trend that is increasing. Even in cases where victims were identified, the number is the second highest since the pre-COVID-19 era.

When including cases determined by age assessments performed by medical professionals, the actual number of victims is even higher.

“The neglect of the sexual commodification of children through their images perpetuates harmful values in society and seriously infringes on children's rights to live and grow up in safety.”, said Okawara.

Okawara stressed the need for comprehensive measures to curb the spread of these exploitative practices.

“The rampant sexualization of children in the media perpetuates harmful social norms and poses a serious threat to children's safety and well-being.,” she added.

As the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prevention Act approaches its 25th anniversary, Okawara stressed the importance of further amending relevant laws, including the Penal Code, the Child Welfare Act and the Child Abuse Prevention Act.

By incorporating the voices of survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation, Okawara aims to strengthen law enforcement measures to protect children from harm.

Source: The House of Representatives of Japan