FREEDOM OF OBSCENE PRESS
Keywords: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, OBSCENITY

COMICS! Japan leads the world in comics. Indeed in many parts of the world there is a  mania for Japanese “manga” (comics) and their "anime" related cartoons. It is a potent display of Japanese pop culture. To say that explicit sexual drawings can get someone imprisoned, could probably lead to the mass arrest of all high school boys who have jotted down their sexual fantasies many a time. Ironically, the wildly pornographic wood block prints from the Edo Period are a valued art form and cultural expression.

Yet the court system which in 1957 arrested the translator and publisher of “Lady Chatterleys Lover” in fact used the standards laid down by that Supreme Court of Japan decision to likewise convict the publisher of a lurid comic book. Giving emphasis to “immorality” and “the public good” the court convicted the publisher based on the prohibitions of Article 175 of the Criminal Code which prohibits the distribution and sale of obscene material. While the Criminal Code does not define obscenity. The Tokyo District Court used the definition provided in the above Supreme Court:decision  “unnecessarily sexually stimulating, damages the normal sexual sense of ordinary people, or is against good sexual moral principles.” The defense claimed the criminal provisions violate the freedom of expression protections of the Constitution. The Court found it permissible to restrict such expression if it is for “the public good.” The publisher was given a one year suspended sentence.  This was the first court case on obscenity in 20 years.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

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