I don't know how it is all around the world, I just know America and Japan. There it is 18, so when an article says "under 20" equals pedophilia, I have to point it out.

But really it is just the virtual stuff. Read the articles you posted. Japan is not the majority source of actual child abuse pornography. The problem is defining virtual child pornography as actual child pornography. This doesn't really exist in the West, so dealing with this hasn't been an issue.

Yes, they were massive, especially for a Japanese girl.

In any case, it's clear I'm not claiming some sort of Western superiority in the matter, as you tried to foolishly imply.

You're right.. you're claiming something worse :cool:

What would that be?

How about closing this thread for good?

We're just turning the pedophiles on and giving them a chance to justify themselves to others (as well as reaffirm their own beliefs).


We'll see. The previous discussions have been pretty critical, so far.

~CoolNard

GoNative,

Sorry, my skiing season have started so I don't have much time hanging out here anymore. Which is cooool. Not that hanging out here isn't cool but skiing is just too good :D

Anyway, if I lived in Australia, I would think it was totally OK to say things like "Curry murders are crazy. These racists are sick." Because it is and they are. But the moment I say "Australia is backward compared to other countries. Look at the curry murders!" That becomes bashing. There is a fine line between them.

Comparing Japan with Russia isn't very, mmm what's the word, I'll just say reasonable. The situations in Russia and Japan are completely different. And you don't have any ground to your claim that Japan is a pedophiliac photographers' heaven. You are welcome to prove me otherwise though.

I am strongly against the law that prohibits simple possession of child pornography. At least in Japan. It's not because I want to see them. (Duh, do I even need to say this??? But it seems...) It's about citizens' rights and about the Freedom of Speech. It's just too dangerous and totalitarian.

I find the French law that "prohibits" burka is a bit backward and totalitarian. How can you "prohibit" people from wearing a certain kind of outfit? What's the difference between Arab countries that regulate what kinds of clothes their citizens can wear and the French?

However, different countries have different circumstances and I understand that France, and many European countries, have serious immigration problems. And sometimes there needs to be tough measures.

Likewise, in the countries where rape rates are 70 times higher than Japan, I understand there is a need to take radical actions. But when I see some western country arrests their citizen for possessing MANGA where there is no VICTIM, and convicts them and classifies them as a felon and a sex offender, I get a feeling similar to the one I get when I come across news about sex and women in some Muslim countries.

The issue is kinda religious I think, and my religion (Zen) tells me it's all about the balance.

I skipped a lot of posts. I'll start reading them now.

Edit:
Well, I realized there were far too many for my tired brains right now... I'll come back later. hehe.

Cranks the posession law is an issue and puts Japan behind most other nations in the world. That's not bashing, it's just a fact. Child pornographers are very sophisticated in their operations worldwide and very good at taking advantage of countries that have laws that give them more leeway. The fight against child pornography is one that needs worldwide cooperation and Japans laws (or lack of them) are seen as a hinderance to the this effort.

In terms of treatment of rape victims I don't consider it bashing to also say that Japan is way behind most other modern nations. There is ample evidence from the Japanese government itself that reporting rates of rape are extremely low. Much of this is due I believe to attitudes generally towards rape and it's treatment by police and the courts. As one of the government surveys found 7% of respondents claimed to have been raped at least once and only about 5% of them reported it. There is something wrong with the system when so many who have been raped do not report it. Again this is not bashing it's just recognising that there is an issue in this country. One that many groups and the government are aware of but as yet I have not seen any major moves to improve the situation.

Well, how do you defend your own country when she has 70 times higher rate of rapes? Isn't THAT backward?

And as I said, I'm against laws that prohibit possession of ANY kind of published works even if they go against my grain. "Freedom of Speech" is NOT the "Right to see ONLY what you WANT to see". Again, I don't see any difference from Iran authorities banning bikinis and Canadian and American police arresting its citizen for possessing MANGA child pornography. Actually, I find the latter more backward, to be honest.

Edit:
And the reporting rate thing. Yeah, I do believe Japanese women probably report less, but really, if you have actually interacted with them, which I believe you did, do you really think they are THAT much different from western women? I don't think western women report a rape 100%. I don't think the reporting rate is 7000% higher in Australia than Japan. Do you think so?

I live in Japan and I'm concerned about issues here. If you continually want talk about Australia then I suggest you frequent Australian forums instead of one that focuses on Japan. Before you start carrying on about my refernce to Japan being behind other nations lets just be clear that as my post above suggests I do not believe the official rates of rape reported in Japan are even remotely close to revealing the actual situation. The rate of reporting here is officially recognised as being extremely low. It is the system and culture that makes reporting so low that concerns me. It doesn't surprise me at all that a country like Australia has far higher reporting of rape because much has been done there to support and encourage victims to come forward. Are there still issues there? Yes of course there are but they are not really issues to be discussed on this forum are they?
Rape occurs in every nation on earth. The main differences between nations is how much support the victims receive and how they are treated by the police and the courts. On this front I believe Japan is lagging behind most other modern nations.