RIGHTS-JAPAN: Loopholes Hit in Anti-child Pornography Law

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, May 29 1999 (IPS) - A new law against child pornography has yet to go into effect, but even those who welcomed its passage are already thinking of how they can strengthen it.

Activists here say that while the law is a step in the right direction, the areas it does not cover may become serious obstacles toward the achievement of its goals.

The law, passed this month, bans the purchase of sex from minors, as well as the manufacture, sale and distribution of obscene photographs, videos and Internet images of children and youth up to 18 years of age.

It targets Japanese nationals taking part in child sex tours overseas and buying sex from Japanese minors. According to the law, the adult offenders will be prosecuted, but not the children.

A maximum prison term of three years or a fine of up to one million yen (8,264 U.S. dollars) awaits those found guilty of buying sex from minors.

Those found to have distributed pornographic material involving children will also be meted a jail term of up to three years, but the alternative fine can reach a maximum of three million yen (24,794 dollars).

The law comes on the heels of recent surveys by the Interpol that reveal 80 percent of the child pornography material released worldwide originate from Japan.

Child rights movements in Asian countries such as Thailand and the Philippines have also said they keep a close watch on tourists from Japan, as well as those from Taiwan and South Korea.

According to officials here, the ‘soft child porn’ photographs and films circulated in this country usually feature Japanese children in their underwear or frolicking naked in parks.

But most of the hard core material, involving minors having sex with adults, makes use of children from other Asian nations.

The new law goes into effect by yearend. “It has been a long wait, but it has been worth it,” says child rights advocate Shiro Yoshioka.

Still, he agrees with other activists that lobbying legislators plug the law’s loopholes has now become among their top priorities.

For instance, Yoshioka, who is with the Stop Child Prostitution Group, says that the bill does not specify individual trading of child pornography materials.

He argues that without such specifics, “Japanese adults can who want the stuff can still possess the material without worrying about the police, as long as they say they are not making child pornography a business”.

The Publishing Ethics Council has also expressed concern about the vagueness of the law. The Council worries that the bill’s nebulous definition of pornography makes it easy for authorities to interpret it the way they want to, raising the possibility that even the sale and distribution of “legitimate art” may be restricted.

Meanwhile, activists say there are already large video stores around Tokyo that carry notices informing customers of the bill and urging them to buy and stack up on child pornography films before the law goes into full force.

To them, this only shows that the law may not even succeed in limiting the production, distribution and sale of child pornography materials — and only drive the whole business underground.

Some activists also note that the law says nothing about protecting children from sexually explicit materials.

Eiji Kawada, who heads the Citizen’s Group to Discuss Mass Communication, says the easy access Japanese children have to pornographic materials — including comic books that feature schoolgirls having sex — is sending wrong signals to the youngsters.

Kawada says even advertisements showing schoolgirls in revealing dresses or provocative poses should not be published in magazines that have children among the readers, or posted in places where youngsters might see them.

He says, “The casual way (these material) treat young girls does not give children a clear understanding of the need to protect their rights.”

Three years ago, Kawada’s group scored a minor victory when it attracted enough public attention to pressure big bookstores to keep away from children’s reach publications with references to sexual intercourse.

But similar efforts to make Japan’s many convenience stores to follow suit have yet to succeed.

Kawada’s organisation is now planning to invite parents to visit convenience stores so they can see for themselves what their children are being exposed to.

The visits will be complemented with lectures aimed at helping develop awareness of the negative effects of featuring children in Sexual material.