A real hasty question, about censorship
(8 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5)
Loading...Hey guys 
I didn’t see time fly and now I’m in a total hurry, as of usual. I wanted to ask if someone could confirm or infirm this rumour, that I’ve read in the comments on Hentairules…
It says that the amount of censorship applied by hentai publishers is decided after a financial arrangement between the publishers and some kind of Japanese authority.
Frankly, to me that sounds like a huge pile of bullshit. Anyone to confirm this is BS ? I’m curious, I’d like to get a confirmation
I've heard this rumor before and I really don't think there is any truth to it. It's been rumored for years that AV is protected somewhat by pay-offs from the Yakuza. Who really knows if it's true or not? One of the rumors I've seen that I put a little more credence in is pressure being applied by different groups to police some forms of etchi in print as Japan prepares for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
I don't know if it would be corruption pure and simple, or negociating the fine for obscenity charges, but in a place as crazy as Japan, I'll believe a lot of weird things…
The current rumor circling the net is it's because of the Olympics.
In truth, the police raided a publishing house (Megastore) and shut them down because their black bars weren't black enough. So all the other publishers got scared and after moving in with their aunties and uncles in Bel Air, increased the censorship to stay "under the radar".
So basically it's corrupt politics
No, porn is technically illegal in Japan. They let it slide if you censor it, but they don't have to. At all. Publishers were trying to be the lewdest, censorless material without removing censors to beat out each other.
If anything, the publishing companies brought this on themselves.
But in the end they wouldn't care about how legal it is if you pay the right people the right amounts of money right? Isn't that how shit is done in Japan? I guess one publisher messed up.
There is a cliché about how people just pay of the Yakuza to stay out of trouble. Obviously such rumors can neither be confirmed, nor denied.
I found this article about how enforcement is lax and usually for show: http://transformativeworks.org/news/censorship-pr…
Also the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has tons of article about these very topics: http://cbldf.org/2013/09/tokyo-olympics-emboldens…
CBLDF has some interesting articles, I'll have to donate more and buy more humble bundles when I see the logo.
"Obscene material" is technically illegal in Japan. There's no precise definition of obscenity in Japanese law, so it's up to the police to decide when to act arbitrarily (pretty much the same with other crimes like sex offences).
In order to protect themselves, publishers bribe the police indirectly via amakurari ("descent from heaven") = revolving door. They create private organizations that certify material as non-obscene via suitable censorship, and hire retired police higher-ups (this is also done for AV, so you have a bunch of oldies watching porn and/or rubber-stamping the OK seal). So soon-to-retire bosses block action on publishers that pay amakudari well enough, since they hope to join their ranks soon or have friends working there.
In a way, whoever said there's a financial arrangement to determine the amount of censorship is half-right. The better you pay your amakurari, the less intrusive you can make your censorship, thus giving you an edge over the competition.
Something similar involving special taxes and inscription in some "unusual business" registry (plus regular bribes) is done for the real-world sex industry.
Now, I see the whole idea, with your explanation added to the rest.
HypnoPhag, everyone, thanks for the replies !!
In a planet where there are conspiracy theories about everything, that would just be another one.
The Olympic games are no explanation at all, as they never affected porn in the USA, for example.
In any civilized society (as Japan is supposed to be), the publishers (as any group feeling disturbed) would support their own candidates to the legislative and extinguish censorship. Once Japan is a democracy, it is a mystery such publishers have never tried to finish that mix of hypocrisy and schizophrenia (supposing they have not).
The Olympic games imply a lot of visitors, Japan wouldn't want what we consider drawn, hardcore (at times loli) porn books just lying in stores, content censorship would thus get more strict across the line, is one such theory.
Japan doesn't have the same kind of standards, especially in porn, as for example the USA. Far from it (that's why I come here!).
Well, as far as I know, Japan did not worry about hentai industry during the world cup. As to such an industry, it would not be newness to anyone.
But no one gives a shit about soccer.
Oh, I see. Now I understand.
Conspiracy Theory :
The black hand behind this is WANI MAGAZINE who is now sending out of take-down notices in a threatening way. In the mean time, more artists moved to WANI from CORE.
Wani has like the worst censorship of all now (even in tanks), so I’m not sure how this helps them.
If it's about the Olympics (or whatever international sporting event) coming to Japan, case in point would be Germany.
Germany has a thriving sex industry (and is getting some of the adult anime uncensored, the lucky bastards). But more people came to watch the Olympics or soccer than they came to have sex. So yeah. (Germany recently won the Soccerbowl. Good for them and maybe they won't be so depressed.)
"Japan Ga meh." Their government (and their bitter enemy China) didn't seem to get the memo that the era of censored genitals is over.
The laws trying to regulate the porn industry in my home state of lovely blue California is just as retarded. Just recently our assembly had to shoot down some mandatory sex-movie condom law. Because, you know. They already have mandatory doctor visits before filming time.