[quote]Japan’s record on women’s rights to face review by UN Committee GENEVA (10 February 2016) – Japan’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 16 February. Japan has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so is reviewed regularly by the Committee on how it is implementing the Convention. Among the possible issues for discussion between CEDAW and a delegation from the Japanese Government are: [u]Banning the sale of video games or cartoons involving sexual violence against women[/u]; employment equality, illegal dismissal of women due to pregnancy and childbirth; sexual harassment in the workplace; reintegration into school textbooks of issue of “comfort women”; compensation for women with disabilities sterilised against their will; effect on women, particularly pregnant women, of health programmes introduced after the Fukushima nuclear disaster; difference in pension benefits for men and women, poverty among older women.[/quote] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17028&LangID=E ^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [quote]Japanese Response - We are absolutely in agreement that the protection of the rights of women in Japan is important. On the other hand, we think it should be carefully and seriously evaluated whether the measures taken to ensure those protections are valid ones or not. [u]If we are asked to consider whether "Protecting Women's Rights in Japan" requires us to "Ban the Sale of Manga and Video Games Depicting Sexual Violence,"[b] then we must reply that that is an absolute "no."[/b][/u] Reasons for Our Opinion: Reason #1 - The so-called sexual violence in manga and video games[u] is a made-up thing[/u] and as such [u]does not threaten the rights of actual people[/u]; therefore, it is meaningless in protecting the rights of women. Reason #2 - In Japan, and especially when it comes to [u]manga[/u], these are[u] creative fields that women themselves cultivated and worked hard[/u] by their own hand to create careers for themselves. If we were to "ban the sale of manga that includes sexual violence," [u]it would do the opposite and instead create a new avenue of sexism toward women.[/u] Detailed Explanation of Reasons: About Reason #1 - It goes without saying that the -blam!- and other crimes of actual real people who experience sexual acts from partners without consent is an actual violation of their rights concerning sexual violence and should obviously be forbidden by law, and that it's necessary to protect and support victims. [u]However, the figures in manga and video games are creative fictions that do not actually exist, and thus this is not a violation of any real person's human rights. [/u][u][b]We should focus on attacking the problems that affect real women's human rights as quickly as possible.[/b][/u] ~ Savage!! About Reason #2 - ... Already in the 70s there were women-focused manga magazines and many talented women manga writers came from them. Among the manga for women in our country, there were titles that took up the history of women's sexual exploitation and slavery. "The Cliff For Those Would Be Parents" by Fumiko Sone was one such work. Against the backdrop of the real history, it is a work that paints the life of a girl who lived in poverty and was sold into service as a prostitute for Bakusai Harem in Hokkaido's Muroran, and how she lives through the experience. [u]For the people who live in these times, it is manga like this that creates an opportunity for people to imagine the pain of women living in that era.[/u] [b]However, because this work contains depictions of sexual violence, if we employed on a ban on the sale of "manga that depicted sexual violence," it would go out of print and eventually people would lose that chance.[/b] .... (Note that while both listed works contain sexual violence toward men,[b] sexual violence is not a problem limited to only women[/b],[b] and therefore should not be treated as exclusively a women's rights issue[/b].) In this way, it can be predicted that[u] if we were to ban the sale of "manga that depicts sexual violence," a great deal of publishers would cease publication of a huge amount of works. [/u]In the creative field of manga, [b]the effect would be that women who have worked so hard to create a place for vibrant careers would have that place shrink right in front of them, as well as have their efforts negated[/b]. In addition, if we were to put ourselves in the places of manga readers the chance to know about the history of the sexual exploitation of women would be lost and method for them to come to know about it. [u]If the creative fields of manga were attacked, trampled on and destroyed with such prejudice, it would damage not only the women manga writers, but also spread to other women creators in the field, as well as the female readers. This would be a sexist punishment that only narrows the career possibilities of Japan's women.[/u] It is noted that on the other hand when it comes to "manga that depicts sexual violence" a certain segment of people are going to find it unpleasant.[u] Nevertheless, to ban expression and commerce unilaterally based on feelings of whether or not something is unpleasant, or viewpoints on what should be moral, is a practice not to be condoned. [/u]The basis for feelings about what is or is not repulsive, and moral viewpoints, will differ based on the individual or their region and that culture's segmented local society. [u]There is nothing to be gained from regulating fictional sexual violence.[/u] [b][u]However, while you're trying to fix the rights of fictional characters, you're leaving the human rights of real women in the real world left to rot.[/u] [/b]As well, in Japan, the entire reason we have a media genre such as manga that developed to take on themes such as the sexual exploitation of women came from an attitude to tolerate "drinking the pure and the dirty without prejudice." It's because we had the freedom to express our views and with that to express the view of a world of humans that live and die, that there are pure and wonderful things and dirty and nasty things mixed with each other. [u]Manga is a field where women have put in their hard work and effort to cut forward paths and cultivate a place of their own.[/u] We believe that in order to protect this place from being trampled on, it will need our continued hard work to pass it on to the next generation, and it is [u]this effort that will link to the greater freedom and rights of women.[/u][/quote] - Kumiko Yamada, Women's Institute of Contemporary Media Culture Representative and Designer Not Translated - http://wmc-jpn.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/blog-post.html?spref=tw Translated - https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/48ed9t/opinion_japan_womens_institute_of_contemporary/d0iypiz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This was only the latest attempt by the UN to censor Anime/Manga for the sake of "Women's Rights". They have being trying for years and will continue. But it is misguided, their actions will only cause harm to women in Japan and censor mediums displaying eras where society was wrong. The UN would rather have real women rot while targeting fictional depictions of women is just wrong, and shows how corrupt an backwards the UN really are. If the Community ignores this, Japan will consistently be pressured censor their culture, to change for the sake of the West. TL;DR - [u]UN would rather have real women suffer just so they can censor anime/manga cause some people are "offended".[/u] And if the ban were to be applied, Japanese women would be worse off, having their accomplishments over the years made worthless, being put of occupations, and another avenue of sexism. Disclaimer - [spoiler]This is a legit thread, with information taken from Official sources, discussing a legitimate issue. Please do not take it down just because you have differing views. [/spoiler]