Slashdot Mirror
Japanese ESRB Bans Rape Depiction In Games
eldavojohn writes "The Ethics Organization of Computer Software (EOCS), now 233 companies strong, and met in Tokyo yesterday to ban a controversial title from Japan known as RapeLay, an eroge game (something much more adult than the more popular dating simulators). It's gotten a lot of press as reviewers have noted at one point the player must force sex on a 12-year-old. More importantly, the large ($353 million annually) adult game industry in Japan will now need to stay away from rape in their games if they wish to remain a member of EOCS. RapeLay seems to be available on Amazon's UK and JP sites, sparking outrage and causing a former US Ambassador to Japan to write an editorial criticizing Japan, saying, 'Only Japan allows people to possess these hideous images without penalty. Six of the G-7 countries have found ways to protect the innocent from being prosecuted for possession of child pornography. Is it not time for Japan to find a way to punish the guilty?' Singapore's Straits Times has more details, pointing out that it's still not illegal to possess these materials in Japan. We discussed this and other games last month in an editorial."
Which would you pick, Slashdot - a (creepy) guy getting his rocks off to a simulation, or the real thing? Ban the simulation out of existence, then tell me what's left.
Do you have any evidence that less rape is committed as a result of the availability of rape simulation? Until such evidence is provided, this argument is on a par with the idea that rape games cause people to rape.
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Perhaps this US ambassador should consider the comparitive figures for actual rape of real people who really exist in America and Japan.
Surely this difference is far too big to be explained purely as a reporting bias. 34.20 compared to 1.48 per 100,000 people, first figures I found. It's pretty clear that giving potential rapists the ability to do so in a fictional environment where they do not hurt any real people is a good way of making them less likely to do it for real. "Don't hurt anyone, that would be bad" is a better way of getting people not to hurt anyone than "revealing your fantasies makes you damned whether you hurt anyone or not."
It seems chirality is not dead after all... ;)
There will always be the odd problem with 'crazy person see, crazy person do'. He watched Dexter - if he hadn't, he'd have watched some other show involving a serial killer and the result would have been much the same.
Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
This sounds too much like presumption of guilt to me. In a perfect world perhaps it would be reasonable, but this isn't a perfect world and if the police decide to pin a crime on someone because they know they play these types of games, that person is going to suffer unreasonable harassment.
Also, the very existence of this information and its ability to be used for these purposes means that your arguments are conflicting with each other: those who do have these types of fantasies and think there's even a remote chance they may act on them one day will avoid ever having any association with these types of products. Therefore, if playing these games does actually have any kind of effect on people's real life behaviour, those "on the border" who would benefit from having a safe, non-harmful outlet will deliberately avoid utilising that outlet.
In addition, the negative stigma that is obviously being attached to it ("you can have the game, but we're putting you on our watch list, you disgusting pervert") means people will avoid them. I think these things are only useful if they can de-stigmatise particular desires, to effect a shift in perception to one of understanding: "yes you can play these games, it's fine to have these fantasies, just be aware that doing it for real will make us all very upset".
Making people feel ashamed of themselves for their thoughts and primal urges seems counter-productive, to me.
Why is there such a huge demand for murder simulators in the US?
Why are some crimes forbidden to simulate, but violence, shooting people, and murder are fine?
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
Sorry, but I've worked at 2 different rehab facilities. VERY few people claimed that their substance abuse was due to being sexually abused. given, their families were largely nuts, but claiming that the majority of substance abusers were sexually abuse as children is complete bullshit.
That said, I've been to Japan twice now, and I've got to say, there are a lot less sick fucks there than there are here. If someone's a deviant there, they are relatively open about it. Here, everyone is secretive and joins right in on the mob behavior against something, even though they likely enjoy it when they're alone.
And your justification to include the makers of RapeLay to this category would be... that the game disturbs you?
Also, would you let me go through your stuff and destroy whatever I deemed deserving? In fact, would you let me destroy you if I find you disturbing (which I do)? If not, then perhaps you should accept that the bar should be a bit higher than that. Unless, of course, you wish to suggest that you're deserving to make this judgement and I'm not, in which case I'd hazard to guess that you're a politician.
I believe you meant a clue rather than warning.
Anyway, you are quite wrong. Lots of pornography contains violence and depictions of rape. Owning a particular piece doesn't say anything about the guilt of the owner.
He's correct, actually. Do a quick search on the Web, and you'll have no trouble coming up with sick things from any continent. That's because human nature is pretty much the same everywhere.
Or just more capable of admitting their own fantasies. Remember the whole "Hot Coffee" scandal in GTA:SA? It was a game where you played a gangster who stole cars and killed lots of people - and yet one lousy sex scene was what got the moral guardians up in arms. Now that was sick.
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that all of them were, what is your point? We aren't talking about abusing actual children, but drawn images and computer-generated graphics.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
"Those who have those urges towards children may feel prodded seeing the depicted acts to try them in the real world."
Research suggests otherwise. People need a harmless and legal outlet for their urges; for teleiophilic adults, options include sex with another consenting adult or adult pornography for those who can't find a partner. For paedophiles, the already short list of harmless and legal outlets is becoming ever shorter due to the moral crusaders who seek to ban everything which they find offensive. Shotacon/lolicon are one of the few outlets which are still legally available in some countries (although cartoons are quickly being criminalised). If you ban everything which may arouse paedophiles, you'll be left with people who simply ignore the law or people who are dangerously bitter, angry and hostile towards society.
Policy advisors would benefit from actually doing research with responsible paedophiles rather than making assumptions about the effects of certain stimuli. Listening to childrens' charities is a huge mistake, as charities have a motivation to make things worse in order to encourage further donations from naive, shallow citizens.
"To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free" ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four
How the Web Prevents Rape
Study finds online porn may reduce the incidence of rape
Watching violence and porn could reduce violent crime and rape
Love sees no species.
Are you sure? Going after dealers only increases the risk, which increases the price , which increases the reward, which increases the violence.
The drug issue, as with child porn (and violent porn, and to some extent porn in general) is more complicated than anyone seems willing to admit.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Meh, I have RapeLay and have had it for years.
I just can't get off to eroge in general. Give me conventional hentai, or doujinshi anyday. =P
More on topic though, it should be noted in Japan, 'rape' is considered a popular fetish (in fact I'd argue *most* hentai/doujinshi depict rape scenes), underaged school girls feature in the majority of them too, and lolicon (pre-pubescant girls) are fairly prevelant in hentai/doujinshi as well. It just isn't considered as 'bad' to have that kind of fetish. Hell, even in real life, I've read of problems with middle aged businessmen sustaining long term relationships with young underaged girls.
Which is why I'm really surprised they managed to ban RapeLay. I mean, does that mean they'll ban *all* rape hentai? I can't imagine that not hurting their porn industry...
~Jarik
More on topic though, it should be noted in Japan, 'rape' is considered a popular fetish (in fact I'd argue *most* hentai/doujinshi depict rape scenes), underaged school girls feature in the majority of them too, and lolicon (pre-pubescant girls) are fairly prevelant in hentai/doujinshi as well. It just isn't considered as 'bad' to have that kind of fetish. Hell, even in real life, I've read of problems with middle aged businessmen sustaining long term relationships with young underaged girls.
Yeah, all of the above is pretty fucked up. I kind of steer clear of any society in which rape is mainstream. That and the obsession with tentacles. Weird.
I really hate stereotyping an entire nation, but most of what I learn about Japan makes me think "man, those fuckers are *nuts*!". It's really the only country on earth where I could see Caligula fitting in. Somebody tell me that rape porn isn't totally mainstream over there, I'll feel better about our Japanese friends.
Yeah, the nation that first embraced liberalism, both in sex and society, sticking to its roots, and avoiding the "evil" label stamped on all sex, especially that not used for reproduction, by post-Victorian prudes. Imagine that.
Of course, everyone fails to mention that Japan has the lowest rape rate per capita in the world. Perhaps it has something to do with the availability of such materials to quench the urge of would be rapists?