Cartoonist fined for possessing child pornography

Old story, Japanese popular culture got the better of him. Rurouni Kenshin was probably the first time I came in contact with Japanese culture. Since then it has taken so many dives... and at least as many rises.

He only got a 2 grand fine? He’d be looking at 7 years in prison where I come from.

Who ratted him out?

Japanese law ladies and gentlemen

A fine for possessing child pornography? Those who posses this stuff are enabling the abuse of children, in most other countries this would be a mandatory prison sentence and life on the sex offenders register. Japan doesn't not take this abuse seriously.

200,000 fine for possession of DVDs containing naked images of girls under age 18. PATHETIC Japan you should be ashamed of yourself!

You pay a small fine for having that sickening stuff? That'll catch you some years in a metal and concrete cage where I come from.

these laws are only meant to show the international community that japan actually has laws against child porn. they seem mostly toothless.

Japan is strangely lenient when it comes to some stuff, strangely strict for other things. If this guy had graffiti-d a train, I wonder if he'd be in for any less punishment? It seems to me that marginalized members of society (children, women) are just not held dear.

I'm assuming someone at his office saw these DVDs and reporting him or something. Seeing child pornography at work must have been quite unpleasant

Just a fine? Not enough. Where did he get these images from, who did he share them with?

Deserves a jail sentence, imho.

We don’t know what images. It is hard to know if a model is acting as a school girl for fetish. So if she is 17 but you believe she is 20...

but if it is clear she is under 15, 3 years in prison.

First, there's no excuse for possesing such material.

However, I don't think jail is the solution for such a person.

Producers and distributers, definately should face harsh/extreme prison sentences.

But consumers should simply be neutered, undergo mandatory psychotherapy for thier sickness, and face interrogation until thier sources are uncovered.

Just my two cents.

If you got caught with a gram of pot your fine and penalty would be much more severe. What a totally warped sense or morality has.

Fined? How about locked up for a psych assessment? And then chemically castrated.

WTF is wrong with the justice system in Japan?

I wonder about that too. Suspended sentences for abuse and murder of your own children, pay a small fine for child porn, the whole justice system needs to be revamped.

Is a fine worth even writing an article about it?

It's news because it gives us another example of how a connected/famous person walks away from something the rest of us would be put in jail or deported for.

You know, with his history with art, I would actually rather see him punished and humiliated, but not imprisoned.

Surprised. (Oh yeah it's in Japan). Not surprised at all. A culture that's allows, no scratch that, endorses and makes millions off 14 year old waifu, manga, and anime characters. 10 year old chaku ero is 100% legal and there are legal mangas on sale on store shelves with names like "Junior Rape".

We don’t know what images. It is hard to know if a model is acting as a school girl for fetish. So if she is 17 but you believe she is 20...

Well how about avoiding stuff that looks like it is made with children and stick to material with adults? If your sexual desires mean that you want porn that is very clearly on the margins, you're looking at the wrong material.

@stepout. I once walked into one of those shops thinking it was a lesson on Japanese culture when I first came here. I was so disgusted that it kind of spoilt my first impressions of japan.

So, from a Japanese source, those were pictures of girls in their early teens, described as "joji", which in my vocabulary means 13 and less. Yup.

If you got caught with a gram of pot your fine and penalty would be much more severe. What a totally warped sense or morality has.

This reflects what is thought to be more detrimental to society and a nearsighted view of only foreseeable consequences.

BungleToday  04:45 pm JST

Brainstorming ideas for his latest niche market manga illustrations?

He could have same time, money and embarrasment by just attending COMIKET at Tokyo Big Sight (one of the biggest convention events there - 500k people go there) and buy all loli manga illustrations instead. And there’s a saying... “good artist copy, great artist steal”.

*save time

nakanoguy01Today  09:35 am JST

these laws are only meant to show the international community that japan actually has laws against child porn. they seem mostly toothless

Because western foreign NGOs can’t STFU about it and these western foreign NGOs even want cartoon and manga and videogame porn banned. Talk about overreaching and advocating for limiting freedom of speech and expression. Banning these expressions will put a lot of women artist in japan out of work.

https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/48ed9t/opinion_japan_womens_institute_of_contemporary/

Read the following article on ANN for more detail.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-02-27/rurouni-kenshin-creator-nobuhiro-watsuki-fined-200000-yen-for-possession-of-child-porn/.128322

TLDR version: Was under investigation for something else when the DVD's were discovered, told police in his deposition, Watsuki had said that he "liked girls in late elementary school to around the second year of middle school."

That is all.

All porn exploits its victims, not just children. Sure, they get compensated, but they get pressured into doing this to feed themselves and to get bigger and better roles...more money. Outlaw all porn - adult and children. If chemical castration is used as some suggested for punishment, carry it out on all who view any adult or child porn. Morally, both are wrong.

The guy was a Manga artist. Most Manga have little girls in it that are supposed to be adults according to this culture. Perhaps the DVD images were used for his models, and since we cannot see the DVD as obviously nudes were on it, we will never know. Perhaps that was his argument in court by his lawyer, thus the low fine.

Haruka:

Nudity is not illegal, just porn (child variety). If nudity were illegal, then there goes a millennium of art pieces all over the world.

Japan needs to step up and take a serious view of child pornography. Stamp it out like other developed countries. No blurring of lines that Japanese anime and manga are famous for.