Hm, maybe alliteration isn't my strong point...
If you're turned on by this picture, you could be affected
Connoisseurs of lolicon beware! Weekly Playboy magazine reports Japanese authorities are finally starting to crack down on the highly lucrative teen and child exploitation gravure business.
Although Japan has started implementing similar child pornography laws as most of Western society, the lack of enforcement in recent years have seen an explosion of materials targeted directly to men who like them young. Photo compilations of popular idols ranging from their late teens to preteens to as low as eight years old fly off the shelves as they're released to a teeming mass of fans hungry (horny?) for more photos of their favorite starlets. Reports suggest that over 3 million photo books sold from 2006 to 2007 alone (See Japan Times).
But this may soon be screeching to a halt. The police conducted a series of raids late last year on producers of a photo shoot DVD "starring" a schoolgirl that resulted in the maker of the DVD to be arrested for Child Pornography.
"The girl's swimsuit was deliberately made to be see-through, it was so tight-fitting you could make out the shape of her genitalia and she'd been posed in such risqu? positions that the Metropolitan Police Department decided to arrest the maker for breaking the law banning child pornography even though the girl hadn't actually exposed her bust or between her legs," a reporter from a sports newspaper tells Weekly Playboy.
This marks the first time in Japan history that an individual was arrested for breaking the Child Pornography law without proliferating images that featured nudity. Following further review, the charge has been dropped to a violation of the Child Welfare Law the effects have been far reaching in the gravure business.
"Ever since the arrest, makers of products featuring teens in erotic poses have been in a state of panic. If material is judged to be overly obscene, people can be arrested for breaking the Child Pornography Law, even if the model is dressed in a swimsuit," says an employee of a medium-sized DVD manufacturer producing material featuring models under 15 years old. "DVD shops and wholesalers are now on their guard and have stopped taking materials featuring models under 15, even if the product looks like being a surefire seller."
So what does this mean for the 2D lolicon industry? At the moment, nothing. Much like pre-2006 American law, drawn pornography depicting "young" models does not necessarily entail that it is child pornography. Though there has been limited action against lolicon manga, in general that is not touched. Still, it provides a worrying note to those who like them 2D and young.
(Via Mainichi Daily News: Wai Wai)
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