Recently, Internet users in Japan discovered a petition addressed to the Chamber of Deputies requesting strengthen policies that incorporate victims’ voices and further review relevant laws to eradicate child sexual abuse and exploitation. The petition highlights worrying statistics and criticizes current legislation.

According to the document, the petition bases its request on the fact that, despite the review of the Law on the Prohibition of Prostitution and Child Pornography, the number of arrests for child pornography crimes has not improved significantly. In 2022, the 86% of child pornography victims were girls and 14% were boys, showing an upward trend. Even when the victim could be identified, this is the second largest number in history, second only to the worst time before the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, if we consider cases where the victim could not be identified and the crime was prosecuted based on the age determination by a doctor or other person, the actual number of victims would be even higher.

The petition also states that child prostitution has increased again since 2015, and that the current definitions of child prostitution and child pornography, the Child Welfare Act, and the Child Abuse Prevention Act cannot protect children from sexual exploitation in businesses such as the “JK (high school girls) business,” “JC (high school girls) business,” and “JS (elementary girls) business.” Ignoring the sexual commercialization of images of minors magnifies the value of sexual exploitation in society and seriously violates children's right to live and grow up in a safe and secure manner.

THE UN Special Rapporteur who visited Japan in 2015 criticized the situation in Japanese society regarding child sexual exploitation, and in 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child issued recommendations to the Japanese government, strongly urging the implementation of measures based on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These measures include criminalizing the production, distribution, offering, sale, access, display and possession of images or representations of children in explicit sexual activities, or representations of the sexual parts of a child for sexual purposes.

They passed 25 years since the enactment of the Prohibition of Prostitution and Child Pornography Law, and 10 years since its second amendment. The petition calls for consideration of the UN recommendations, together with the 2023 G7 Summit joint statement, to establish and strengthen an effective law enforcement system. This would include a further review of relevant laws, such as the Prohibition of Child Prostitution and Pornography Act, the Penal Code, the Child Welfare Act and the Prevention of Child Abuse Act, incorporating the voices and suggestions of survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.

This movement has consumers concerned about loli and shota content, which stars anime characters who appear to be minors. This isn't the first time this has been attempted. regulate this type of content without reaching a definitive conclusion. The controversy lies in balance between freedom of artistic expression and the protection of children's rightsan issue that continues to be intensely debated in Japanese society.

Source: Yaraon!

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