There have been many arguments as to whether or not pornography should be allowed in society, but what about arguments against the censorship of it? Japan, the fifth leading country of pornography, is probably the only country in the top five that censors its pornography. What exactly is pornography? Is it really so obscene that it needs censorship? What is obscene in the first place? Is there a viable reason for the censorship?
The first thing to do it to give a definition of pornography that most people have come to agree upon. As one judge famously said, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it" (West). Fortunately there is a definition for pornography that we can use: "writings, pictures, or objects that are intended to arouse sexual interest and are considered offensive or filthy" (Henslin p. 503). This definition isn't a very solid one when you consider that what arouses one person varies greatly for the next. However, in Japan it would appear that the genitals of either sex is enough to elicit arousal and thus censorship.
The next thing to do is explain how the Japanese censor their pornography. Keep in mind that it is self-censored. This means that the people who create the pornography are also the ones that censor it. One way in which the Japanese censor their pornography is they either use mosaics or blur the genitalia in live action pornography and anime (or as it is more well known as hentai). For adult manga (Japanese comics) they either use mosaics or have bars over the genitalia, most notable the clitoris, the opening of the vagina, the head of the penis, and sometimes the anus.
There is one article in the Japanese Constitution and one in their Penal Code that need to be explained. First, according to Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution, "freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed. No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated" (Constitution). That should have been the end all of this argument. There have been several cases that have brought up Article 21 and have lost. Such as the case of Motonori Kishi, where his lawyer insisted that Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code violates Article 21. Article 175 states, "any person who distributes, sells or publicly displays an obscene writing, picture or other materials shall be punished with penal servitude for not more than two years or be fined not more than two million and a half yen (roughly $2,500) or minor fine. The same shall apply to any person who possesses the same with the intention of selling it" (Obscenity). The word "obscene " is never clearly defined in Article 175, but that hasn't stopped the courts. In fact, the Supreme Court defines obscene as, "[anything that] refers to that which unnecessarily excites or stimulates sexual desire, injures the normal sense of embarrassment commonly present in a normal ordinary person, and runs counter to the good moral concept pertaining to sexual matters." This definition came about in the 1957 case where Kyujiro Koyama and Sei Ito were accused of the distribution of obscenity in D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatteley's Lover (Obscenity). However this definition is not officially a part of the Constitution or the Penal Code and has been subjected to arbitrariness, lack of consistency, and is relatively unconstitutional. The rest of the constitution doesn't mention anything else on censorship, whether for or against.
Why is pornography censored in the first place? One source blames the West during the Victorian Era for influencing the Japanese to censor their pornography. They deemed it as "injurious to public morals." (James). Later, during the occupation of Japan by the U.S., all censorships that had been in place beforehand were abolished, except for the one regarding pornography, thus the reason behind the censorship. The Japanese have however become a little more relaxed on their censorship policies (James). For instance, they have allowed for pubic hair to be shown uncensored in their pornography since the 1990s (Obscenity). As mentioned above, pornography is now self-censored.
One argument for the censorship of pornography is that pornography promotes violent behavior, woman being the most commonly cited targets of the violence. There has been very little evidence to the correlation between the two. That hasn't stopped people from blaming pornography. If one thinks about it logically, those that willingly choose to watch violent pornography are already partially inclined to do violent acts before they watch it (Stone). While Kem Stone does not mention this fact, hard-core pornography actually has been shown to decrease the amount of rape and child molestation in countries like Denmark, Czech Republic, and Japan. In fact in the United States as violent pornography has become more common, rape has become less common (Henslin p.72).
Why get up in arms over something that seems so trivial? For one thing, it is trivial. Yet, Japan makes such a big deal out of it. When was the last time someone was arrested for distributing pornography that was uncensored in the United States? Canada? Or any other developed country? (Let us leave out child pornography; that is a whole other issue.) Probably never. For another it is forcing someone else's belief or wishes on another, or as Antony Grey said, "... all censorship is political. It is about the use of social power - the imposition of one's faction's wishes about what should be prohibited upon free choices of the rest of us" (Grey).
Will Japan change their policies on censorship any time soon? Probably not. It would seem that it has come to be a social norm that won't be changing anytime soon. Perhaps someday the judges in the Supreme Court will see the foolishness of it all and allow for uncensored pornography.