Tokyo Anime and Manga Ban Passes

[Lynxara]

The sense I get of this is that Ishihara believes that otaku culture is effectively embarrassing Japan, somehow responsible for the country's stunted birth rate, and generally needs to be reigned in.

Now, it is true that that some other Asian nations tend to stereotype the Japanese as wildly depraved and immoral, but this is based more on Japan's massive sex industry than anything else.

I have to wonder if the English-speaking Internet's love of documenting embarrassing elements of otaku culture and discussing them as evidence of Japan's cultural failure has anything to do with this.

 

[MetalSymphony]

The sense I get of this is that Ishihara believes that otaku culture is effectively embarrassing Japan, somehow responsible for the country's stunted birth rate, and generally needs to be reigned in.

That, and he hates Foreigners. He did go and found a new party because the current one's where not Xenophobic enough for him.

Some how he equates this Law = Less dirty non-Japanese people coming to his city. And as well all know, where're all devious Foreign's who's only goal is it destroy Japanese culture and pollute their "Pure" gene pool with mongrel's.
sweat

 

[garfield15]

Some how he equates this Law = Less dirty non-Japanese people coming to his city. And as well all know, where're all devious Foreign's who's only goal is it destroy Japanese culture and polluted their "Pure" gene pool with mongrel's.
sweat

He's an old fart who hasn't caught up with the times. That's all there is to it.

 

[Blue Saint]

You know this move makes no sense politically. There is no real advantage to it that I can see, if anything it is possibly disastrous if any of the major publishers move out of Tokyo (longshot I admit though). Hell this could actually be the worse move politically if this gives companies a reason to start to become heavily involve in the political system. This is just weird, it seems more like people playing politics.

 

[Lynxara]

You know this move makes no sense politically.

Sure it does. It distracts people from Japan's actual problems, which are massive and intractable.

American politicians do the same thing with "social" issues, they distract people from ugly economic and military realities.

 

[Blue Saint]

No... See the proper way to use a social issue as a distraction is pick one that is already divisive and play-up so it eclipses everything else, also it is advisable to pick that either appeals to or broadens your base. This does none that. This more like the temperance movement and the Eighteenth Amendment.

 

[KingRanger]

"Shueisha announced it will be blocking any Shonen Jump anime from appearing there."

anyone know if this is true? I read it on sankaku, so I am a little hesitant to believe it.

 

[garfield15]

Appearing where? At TAF? Cause that's true.

 

[Lynxara]

This does none that.

The idea that content should be regulated at all is actually still somewhat controversial in Japan. The traditional point of view is that what happens in entertainment is just fantasy and doesn't necessarily have a bearing on a person's identity or reality

The emergence of otaku culture itself challenges the traditional Japanese point of view toward entertainment, since it involves quite literally building a lifestyle around the fantasy you consume. It seems harder to say the content is harmless fantasy once it's affecting people so much.

The past decade has seen a rise in anti-otaku sentiment from the Japanese equivalent of the Western tabloid press, things like anti-otaku sensational tell-all books and trash like that. There's been some reporting on the trend but most of it has slid under the fandom radar.

 

[Blue Saint]

The idea that content should be regulated at all is actually still somewhat controversial in Japan. The traditional point of view is that what happens in entertainment is just fantasy and doesn't necessarily have a bearing on a person's identity or reality

The emergence of otaku culture itself challenges the traditional Japanese point of view toward entertainment, since it involves quite literally building a lifestyle around the fantasy you consume. It seems harder to say the content is harmless fantasy once it's affecting people so much.

The past decade has seen a rise in anti-otaku sentiment from the Japanese equivalent of the Western tabloid press, things like anti-otaku sensational tell-all books and trash like that. There's been some reporting on the trend but most of it has slid under the fandom radar.

I get that, but it also makes no sense since the LDP is pushing this. They don't need a distraction, especially since the recent tensions with China would play a lot better for them. But to be fair I am not that well versed in Japanese politics, so I could be overstating some parts.