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On Sept 7, office worker Tokuni Kishida was arrested on charges of distributing obscene material over the internet. According to Gunma police, last December Kishida was suspected of posting three URLs on his website which linked to “obscene” videos hosted in other countries.
The term “obscene” used by the police and in reports is very vague, but we can assume this means adult videos without the mosaic squares covering the genitalia as is required by Japanese law. One reason is that if it were something more nefarious, the police likely would have mentioned it to add weight to their arrest. Furthermore, there seemed to be an emphasis on the videos being shown on an “overseas” website, where such pixellated censorship is scoffed at.
The final reason is Kishida’s alleged motive: according to police, he said he posted the links because he wanted his “website to stand out and get more page views.” If he was aiming for mass appeal, it stands to reason he would be guiding people towards more standard fares of eroticism.
Readers of the news were also wondering what Kishida was up to, and if one can really get arrested just for posting links to content that one doesn’t personally have possession of.
“All he did was paste a URL?”
“The internet is a scary place.”
“Our laws need some reviewing.”
“Who is the victim in this?”
“So he wanted to ‘stand out?’ That’s a good way to get arrested alright.”
“This isn’t really ‘displaying’ it. There’s a world of difference between making an adult website and posting some links, and sticking a pornographic image on a bulletin board of a post office.
“Google does the same thing, why don’t the Gunma police arrest them too?”
“All this guy needs is a decent lawyer and he can get off these charges.”
As the last two comments mention, the suspect’s crime seems to lie in a very sketchy area of the law. As is often brought up in debates over file sharing of copyrighted material – which Japan also notoriously takes a hardline stance against – does simply pointing toward illicit content constitute a crime in itself?
That’ll be up to the court when Kishida has his day in it.
Sources: Nikkan Sports, My Game News Flash
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Self-Defense Force member arrested for carrying two screwdrivers
-- Policewoman’s posterior produces poetic justice as she arrests man she says groped her on train
-- Illegal mosaic-free porn business busted after earning over US$1M in revenues
- External Link
- http://en.rocketnews24.com/2017/09/11/sapporo-man-arrested-for-posting-urls-to-obscene-material-on-website/
15 Comments
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Garthgoyle
It's not the internet what's a scary place. It's what cops can do to you for absolutely no reason.
sensei258
String him up! Because everybody knows that all Japanese porn is pixelated, and there is no internet access to porn sites from within Japan.
sir_bentley28
Geez! Is this North Korea or Japan? There's no real crime here. No one was hurt. He wasn't doing it to get more money. There are a lot of Japanese laws that need some updating. This is 2017 almost 2018. Not 1954 where porn is a heartstopper.
okochat
Am guessing his posts had to do with;
Child porn, Hidden camera shootings
Otherwise "not guilty"
jonobugs
This is a sketchy area of law. What if someone posted a URL of a google search that pointed to the same things? Hmm.
mmwkdw
Must have been Child Porn related, as you can most definitely watch unpixelated Porn/Risque videos hosted in and outside of Japan. For example take a look at the adult friend finder web site....
Yusuke Ohkawa
What's messed up is his name is open to the public now. Even if all charges are lifted against him at court at the very least he's going get fired from his current company. because...you guys know how it works in Japan...
Yusuke Ohkawa
Hey so does this mean I am going to get arrested if I post an uncensored erotic material on FB in Japan?
Goodlucktoyou
There needs to be a system for internet porn. If you can prove you are over 18, and don't watch child, rape or animal sex, hidden cameras in schools or toilets, then it is ok. The only problem is you need to protect your anomity and prevent viruses etc.
Jonathan Prin
@Yusuke
It would seem so...
Flee Japan !
pacint
Many sites require a credit-card to verify age, prone to abuse.
Said that the biggest online porn site is readily available from Japan(no verification needed).
Hence I think the links were not the common stuff.
sakurasuki
Law enforcement in here try to figure out things to do, that's why these kind of cases appears on media. That news is validating Economist article in May this year.
https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21722216-there-was-just-one-fatal-shooting-whole-2015-crime-dries-up-japans-police-hunt
Jeff Huffman
Yusuke OhkawaSep. 12 02:31 pm JST Hey so does this mean I am going to get arrested if I post an uncensored erotic material on FB in Japan?
No, because FB mods will take it down and, if you persist, will likely suspend your account. FB, Twitter and Instagram do not allow full frontal nudity and certainly not porn. The J-Cops will likely never see it as no one really uses FB in Japan anyway.
Ah_so
At least he didn't post a link to a canoe that looks a bit like a vagina. Then the cops would have really thrown the book at him.