# Full Tokyo Assembly Passes Youth Ordinance Bill



## Twiffles (Dec 15, 2010)

The full Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly approved the government's revised bill to amend the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance on Wednesday afternoon.

The current ordinance already prevents the sale and renting of "harmful publications" — materials that are "sexually stimulating, encourages cruelty, and/or may compel suicide or criminal behavior" to people under the age of 18. Bill 156 would require the industry to also regulate "manga, anime, and other images (except for real-life photography)" that "unjustifiably glorify or exaggerate" certain sexual or pseudo sexual acts. Another section of the revised bill would allow the government to directly regulate the above images if the depicted acts are also "considered to be excessively disrupting of social order" such as r***.

The assembly also approved a non-binding supplemental resolution urging newly designated harmful publications to be carefully regulated, with the work's merits based on artistic, social, and other criteria to be taken into account in the evaluation process.

The voluntary self-regulation clauses will go into effect on April 1 of next year, and the restrictions on sales and renting will go into effect on July 1. 
[/p]



*Source*


Didn't feel it completely worthy enough to put in User News. And no, this isn't a lame "April Fools" joke.
If you need _some_ clarification, see here


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## Rydian (Dec 15, 2010)

So underage people can't buy [censored] manga anymore.

Makes sense to me.


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## referencer (Dec 15, 2010)

The most interesting part about this post is that you self-censored the word "[censored]," which actually confused me a little bit because I couldn't think of any word beginning with R that's normally censored.

Edit: Nevermind, that seems to be a new ridiculous GBATemp thing. We must protect the children from such words by making our posts incomprehensible. If they ever see the word "rape," they'll surely be corrupted!


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## Rydian (Dec 15, 2010)

It was due to a specific incident and it's censoring is rather recent.


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## gamefreak94 (Dec 15, 2010)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> *Bill 156 would require the industry to also regulate "manga, anime, and other images (except for real-life photography)*


 So they want the underage otaku's to stop looking at 2D and start looking at 3D? Someone please explain.


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## Rydian (Dec 15, 2010)

gamefreak94 said:
			
		

> QUOTE said:
> 
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Read the rest of the sentence? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




It's talking about 2D that's very gory or pornographic.

Real stuff that's gory/pornographic is already covered by other laws.


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## Hop2089 (Dec 15, 2010)

This is the end of anime and manga guys enjoy it while it lasts same with you importers.  The ultimate evil has won.


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## 431unknown (Dec 15, 2010)

How exactly is this going to stop anyone from buying this stuff? Were not laws passed against Flash carts too? You can still buy them can't you. If there is a market for something no matter how nefarious it is there will always be a place to buy it.


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## Stevetry (Dec 15, 2010)

Rydian said:
			
		

> So underage people can't buy [censored] manga anymore.
> 
> Makes sense to me.




o so is this all it does if so well no need to worry them


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## mameks (Dec 15, 2010)

Ah cock.
So basically if there's anything deemed unsuitable, even minimally, then it gets banned?




Good byes my animu~


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## Shinigami357 (Dec 15, 2010)

431unknown said:
			
		

> How exactly is this going to stop anyone from buying this stuff? Were not laws passed against Flash carts too? You can still buy them can't you. If there is a market for something no matter how nefarious it is there will always be a place to buy it.




Not very perceptive are you? Seriously, your comparison is so far off it makes me wonder. Flashcards are made by people who are hiding from whoever is stopping them. Manga has to be published one way or the other; furthermore, it has to be written. See the difference? Flashcards can't be controlled because the source is nigh-on impossible to find. Manga can be stopped by going to whichever publication, maybe visiting the offending mangaka, and you're done.

Gosh, please think, man.


On topic:

Oh well... Hopefully the criteria isn't as tight as the whole imposing wording of this article implies. Unlikely, but, hey, anything is possible, right?


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## mameks (Dec 15, 2010)

Shinigami357 said:
			
		

> Oh well... Hopefully the criteria isn't as tight as the whole imposing wording of this article implies. Unlikely, but, hey, anything is possible, right?


Unfortunately so


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## Warrior522 (Dec 15, 2010)

_*PERFECT*_ image choice.

On subject: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuu...


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## Shinigami357 (Dec 15, 2010)

*just realizes*

Wait... This means... LESS SHINIGAMI EXPOSURE!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





EDIT: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...


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## mameks (Dec 15, 2010)

Warrior522 said:
			
		

> _*PERFECT*_ image choice.
> 
> On subject: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuu...
> Indeed :3
> ...


If you mean from Death Note...
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



If you mean from Soul Eater....
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



If you mean from Bleach......


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## Shinigami357 (Dec 15, 2010)

Well, I personally don't read Bleach, but still... And of course there are still some other poor mangaka with great ideas to showcase, but will prob have to tone it down or completely cut it out 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





On another note:

Maybe the good ones will migrate outta there?


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## Rydian (Dec 15, 2010)

to people under the age of 18.[/p]
And if you're under 18 and complaining that you won't be able to buy [censored] manga and guro manga, stores in the US aren't supposed to sell mature shit to you either, and as I mentioned the IRL porn stuff is already restricted by age.  I mean seriously, can any of you tell me what this actually changes and how it's bad?

You see "restrict" and "manga" in the same sentence and freak out.


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## Hop2089 (Dec 15, 2010)

Rydian said:
			
		

> to people under the age of 18.[/p]
> And if you're under 18 and complaining that you won't be able to buy [censored] manga and guro manga, stores in the US aren't supposed to sell mature shit to you either, and as I mentioned the IRL porn stuff is already restricted by age.  I mean seriously, can any of you tell me what this actually changes and how it's bad?
> 
> You see "restrict" and "manga" in the same sentence and freak out.



It's not about pushing anime/manga/video games to the high shelf it's the fact that most directors and publishers will refuse to publish or produce any anime, any manga or video game that has any traces of ecchi or violence because of the law since it can't be marketed to the main audience which are teens.  This will put many directors, VA, and game designers and programmers out of a job.


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## Rydian (Dec 15, 2010)

Hop2089 said:
			
		

> It's not about pushing anime/manga/video games to the high shelf it's the fact that most directors and publishers will refuse to publish or produce any anime, any manga or video game that has any traces of ecchi or violence because of the law since it can't be marketed to the main audience which are teens.  This will put many directors, VA, and game designers and programmers out of a job.


Well that makes sense.


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## TheDarkSeed (Dec 15, 2010)

I hope Japan doesn't go 4kids on us!(Those Bastards made Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball Z Blue!!


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## Hop2089 (Dec 15, 2010)

TheDarkSeed said:
			
		

> I hope Japan doesn't go 4kids on us!(Those Bastards made Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball Z Blue!!



That's pretty much what's eventually going to happen, in order for mangaka, directors, and the Japanese game industry make money they will have to make only family friendly shows and maybe moe (I'm saying maybe because Mr. Ishihara, the evil behind the bill may want that restricted too even though typical moe has little and usually no ecchi).  Now in the VN market, they could actually survive since the adult VNs are already regulated by EOCS and there could be a market for dating sims without ecchi or hentai, take Sister Princess for example it had zero ecchi and yet it was popular for years.  If only they could pull off a couple of these that have similar popularity.


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## mameks (Dec 15, 2010)

I think these clear it up quite well:
(No links as moderately NSFW pics on side of the page)


Spoiler: Masses of Text



*12/13/2010*
It's over. Manga, anime and games in Japan as they're known today might well be over, as the infamous "Bill 156", formerly incarnated as an anti-loli bill, then mutated into an anti-everything bill, has successfully passed through the vote by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's General Affairs Committee, and will enter law should it pass through the final, Full Assembly vote about about a day from now.

I'm not kidding when I say that the industry as you and I know it today may be dramatically affected by the bill's passage. Put plain, it expands the TMG's ability to deem, in any manga, anime or game (live-action film, novels and works using real-life photos are exempt), any instance of a so-called "virtual sex crime" as "harmful", should a unilaterally-appointed regulating body decide that said depiction is "unjustifiably glorified and exaggerated".

Read on for a few more details on how this debacle is expected to play out if it passes tomorrow's Full Assembly Vote.
Under the new law, material deemed "harmful" would be forced into an adults-only section of stores that sell it, as well as practically banned from sale via internet-based channels, including the likes of Amazon Japan (since said channels already have in-house rules against selling harmful material). It would be a commercial "kiss of death" similar to the way AO-rated videogames are treated by retailers in the United States.

Keep in mind, the TMG already has the power to regulate material in this way. The bill instead gratuitously expands its scope and coverage. Think of it as going from "too" to "any and all" with regard to sexual acts, , so long as the acts would be illegal in real life and "unjustifiably glorified and exaggerated". It's isnt an outright ban, but its practical effects would amount to same: any retailer in its right mind would refuse to sell material that risks being caught under that incredibly vague umbrella of language, and most publishers would avoid green-lighting such material for fear of being publicly humiliated by the TMG.

To cite some examples, manga, anime, or game adaptations of The Tale of Genji, Oedipus Rex, Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and American Beauty could potentially be affected, as well as currently running anime like OreImo, Yosuga no Sora, MM!, and Panty and Stocking, so long as sexual relations depicted within are perceived as "unjustifiably glorified and exaggerated".

Essentially, a significant portion of the manga/anime/videogame industry's creative freedoms would be held hostage to the tastes and potential prudishness of a small group of unilaterally-appointed individuals. And influencing those appointments would be Tokyo's governor, who has openly admitted to having a negative attitude towards the fact that homosexual persons are allowed to appear in the mass media. One wonders at the effect his standards might have on the popular "Boy's Love" subgenre, which deals with homosexual relationships. Would he feel that BL manga "unjustifiably glorify and exaggerate" the public profile of people he feels are "deficient somehow"?

About the only saving grace to this fiasco would be that the bill is technically restricted to Tokyo only. Studios and publishers in other prefectures would ostensibly be unaffected. Multiple major publishers have in fact, pulled out of the upcoming Tokyo International Anime Fair in protest. Then again,  the lion's share of the anime and manga industry is still located in Tokyo, so this light of hope remains decidedly faint.

At this point I'm beyond words. I encourage you to read a short (but comprehensive) history of the bill and its stipulations, courtesy of Dan Kanemitsu, here.[/p]
*12/15/2010*
Love is over. Well, any love that Tokyo's government deems "harmful" or "unjustifiably glorified and exaggerated". That's over

Bill 156, also known as the "virtual crimes bill" or the "nonexistent youth bill revision", "anti-everything bill" or "anti-loli bill advent no-more-children" (I made that last one up), has just passed the final round of voting in the full assembly vote and is officially law. It takes effect in July next year, after a preliminary period of "self-regulation" scheduled to begin in April.

The bill passed with support from both the LDP and DPJ parties (which combined make up more than 90% of the legislature), the latter of which finally caved with the addition of non-binding clauses suggesting that the regulating bodies respect the works' artistic values and such. Hmph! Fat chance, especially if rumors are true about some legislators asking if the bill could be extended to cover homosexuality through the criminalization of such.

You can refer to the other day's coverage for more details on the bill and what it might mean for Japan's anime, manga, and videogame industry (live-action entertainment industries remain totally unaffected), but put plain, it drastically widens the scope of material the Tokyo Government can apply a commercial "kiss of death" to. It's not a ban or a restriction of illegal pornography, but rather an expansion of what kinds of material the government can declare to be overly smutty. Just as bad, or even worse, really.

This isn't over, of course. It's not as if all manga and anime and games will disappear. It's still just restricted to Tokyo. Publishers, including the massive "Big 10" conglomerates led by the likes of Kadokawa, will fight the bill and the moral zealots behind it tooth-and-nail. Even Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, voiced some concern over the bill's long-term effect on Japan's "soft power".

We foreigners are hardly in a position to protest a Japanese law and have any effect, but perhaps the best way foreign otaku can pitch in is, as Dan Kanemitsu suggests, to speak up when the far-too-common, inaccurate, even hateful misconceptions about Japan as the world's sole repository of disgusting child porn and perversity come up. This will be especially relevant as foreign news outlets pick up the story. Write letters, post on blogs, and speak out when you can. This involves things that are relevant to your interests, you'd only be right to try at protecting them. [/p]


Also, see this blog, it's got good info on the matter.


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## 431unknown (Dec 15, 2010)

Shinigami357 said:
			
		

> 431unknown said:
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Um there is no difference cause if it's deemed bad no legitimate publishers, writers, or anybody else are going to be involved any way.  If someone wants to make this stuff they will find a way around this law and if under age people want to buy it they will find a way also. Your the one that's not very perceptive. Nothing can be controlled. Anyone can go online and find a home equivalent to a printing press. I know people who do this where I work tho it's not manga but the same principles are involved.


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## Shinigami357 (Dec 16, 2010)

431unknown said:
			
		

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Seriously, some people think the internet solves everything. They forget the people who make this stuff actually rely on it for a living.


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## mameks (Dec 16, 2010)

431unknown said:
			
		

> Shinigami357 said:
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Wut?
It's completely different, flash-carts=border-line illegal, Manga/anime=completely legal.
As shinigami said, the people who write them actually earn their living off of these works. Flashcarts are essentially made in order to allow people to deprive the developers from earning money. 
If someone simply starts printing their stuff from home, they'll have a much lower market.

If they have to change their styles in order to remain main-stream, then there's the possibility that they'll become less popular, and as such lose money.
If the censorship board thinks the material to be something that "corrupts the minds of the youth" then it'll get cancelled, or censored to shit.

Edit: typo.


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## 431unknown (Dec 16, 2010)

If this shit is illegal to sell to under age kids then it does not matter who makes aliving off of it. At the time when who ever sells it to an underage kid it will fall into the same category as  a flash cart. That category is called illegal. It's the same, punishments may be different but it's still all the same, ILLEGAL!

I understand what you guys are trying to get across but apparently you are too dense to get my view.

If some underage kid wants to still buy this stupid shit then I guess they'll have to go "underground" to find someone will to produce and market it to kids. I must be really fucken old am I the only one that has ever heard of the underground comics that used to be produced?


Edit: I know someones going to say hey they weren't the same shit but they fit in to what I am trying to get across. If you know some one wants something and you have the drive and determination along with the knowledge to make it happened they it will happen and there is no law going to stop them unless they want it to.


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## mameks (Dec 16, 2010)

431unknown said:
			
		

> If this shit is illegal to sell to under age kids then it does not matter who makes aliving off of it. At the time when who ever sells it to an underage kid it will fall into the same category as  a flash cart. That category is called illegal. It's the same, punishments may be different but it's still all the same, ILLEGAL!
> 
> I understand what you guys are trying to get across but apparently you are too dense to get my view.
> 
> ...


It's the fact that some things that were not originally deemed unfit for certain age groups now may be.
It's that even minor sexual content, of any sort, may push the age rating up. 

And I have no clue what that last paragraph means.


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## 431unknown (Dec 16, 2010)

Times change little man get used to it.


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## Shinigami357 (Dec 16, 2010)

431unknown said:
			
		

> Times change little man get used to it.




Great. He runs out of arguments he insults the other guy. Who's gonna take you seriously now? {expletive] yeah, times change. So your point here pertaining to the topic is?


Anyway, back on to the topic:

Does it say anything if it only covers present and future work? I mean, surely there are gonna be some copies of some ultra-violent manga waiting to be sold, right? It'd be a shame if they up and confiscated that.


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## mameks (Dec 16, 2010)

Shinigami357 said:
			
		

> Does it say anything if it only covers present and future work? I mean, surely there are gonna be some copies of some ultra-violent manga waiting to be sold, right? It'd be a shame if they up and confiscated that.


It doesn't specify...
Link
2nd paragraph.


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## 431unknown (Dec 16, 2010)

I'm not insulting anyone I'm stating a fact.


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