Tokyo MG Bill 156

K.O.Kiki

http://dankanemitsu.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/tokyo-assembly-passes-bill-156-anti-anime-and-manga-bill-is-now-law/

Hooray for censorship!

ussjtrunks

I have seen stuff on this law but its very vague, imagine if they started censoring one piece lol (which they technically could )

Varik

ussjtrunks wrote: »

I have seen stuff on this law but its very vague, imagine if they started censoring one piece lol (which they technically could )

laws should never include "Et cetera", this is only for the Tokyo prefecture but that will have any other reluctant to make something that can only be sold every where other than Tokyo.

The Tokyo governor piss off a lot of publishers so they have dropped out of the Tokyo International Anime Fair due to this and comments made by the governor.

Below

before and after

Butterscotch

Lets kill anime slowly with cancer.

thefinalstage

ussjtrunks wrote: »

I have seen stuff on this law but its very vague, imagine if they started censoring one piece lol (which they technically could )

Censored one piece...Sanji wil have a lollipop again! Nooooooooo

K.O.Kiki

Y'know, as much as I loathe Bleach -- if they censor Orihime's "growth"...

PeggyvB

Looks like Shonen Jump and Shonen Sunday are out. They're pretty big players too.






K.O.Kiki - personally I like Bleach's current story arc, (in the manga, not the filler episodes on tv) but I agree about Orihime, lol!

thefinalstage

PeggyvB wrote: »

Looks like Shonen Jump and Shonen Sunday are out. They're pretty big players too.






K.O.Kiki - personally I like Bleach's current story arc, (in the manga, not the filler episodes on tv) but I agree about Orihime, lol!

What!? Shonen? *over dramatic* Nooooooooooo

Cy_Revenant

It's not entirely clear to me what's happening here. I gather that this is some sort of censorship bill, but could someone explain the details?

From what I can see it seems to only be banning depictions of sex crimes. Am I missing something?

In a way it reminds me of the old Comic Book Code from the US.

PeggyvB wrote: »

Looks like Shonen Jump and Shonen Sunday are out. They're pretty big players too.

You mean Shueisha and Shogakukan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shueisha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogakukan

ztoical

Cy_Revenant wrote: »

It's not entirely clear to me what's happening here. I gather that this is some sort of censorship bill, but could someone explain the details?

From what I can see it seems to only be banning depictions of sex crimes. Am I missing something?

Here and here's the lowdown on the bill if you haven't been following and also Erica Friedman blog. The ordinance includes sex scenes with minors, incest and while it's not mentioned most feel gay content will be covered as well.

Honestly I feel alot of people are making a mountain out of a mole hill with this. Harping on about how it will kill the industry etc etc but frankly after spending alot of time wandering around the streets of Tokyo I found the volume of hardcore material that was freely on show a bit much and given Japanes poor placement in the world gender equality list it's something that was a long time coming...I am suprsied they've started were they have as the live action industry is a much bigger issue but the ordinance focuses on companies and their access to distribution, not creators who make the material.

Cy_Revenant wrote: »

In a way it reminds me of the old Comic Book Code from the US.

Couple of blogs have made the comparison but the big difference being that the publishers in states voluntarily set up the Comics Code Authority
while in Japan the publishers are standing up against the ordiance and one wonders what would have happened to the likes of EC comics had they stood up to Fredric Wertham and his lot rather then rolled over.

cherryghost

Maybe it'll help rejuevenate the industry with excellent well written stories instead of fanboy deliveries

PeggyvB

The problem -from what I understand- is that the law is vaguely worded in subjective terms and doesn't give creators a clear set of rules to follow. Not knowing if your work violates a law can have a chilling effect on creativity for mangaka and publishers alike.

K.O.Kiki

The other problem is that anything even SLIGHTLY ecchi, but set in an "objectionable" setting (i.e. a highschool) could/will fall under this law.

Also: it's censorship. Censorship bad.

ztoical

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The other problem is that anything even SLIGHTLY ecchi, but set in an "objectionable" setting (i.e. a highschool) could/will fall under this law.

Also: it's censorship. Censorship bad.

The ordiance stated purpose is to promote the healthy development of people under the age of 18 by restricting their access to published material that is considered harmful. The majority of the material in question would be restricited in most EU countries and states already so I don't know why people outside Japan are getting worked up about it. For example if a sex scene in a comic book has relevance in the progression of the storyline and not simply an attempt to offer sex for sex's sake, it is not considered pornography in Japan but it would be considered pornography in most Western countries. The majority of the ordiance deals with children aged 13 and under and the internet and includes sections like "Parents and guardians must take responsibilty for ensuring children in their care use the internet in a safe manner that limits their exposure to harmful material."

Currently such material falls under Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Japan which is pretty much never enforced. I'm not saying this as a negative againist Japan, it's just a different culture that is now finding itself needing to regulate industries that it has till now allowed to mostly self regulate esp as they expand out into other markets.

As someone who works in animation and who has spent the last month dealing with the insanity that is broadcast standards for the US market, the ordiance really isn't anything really major.