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Japan Moves Toward Blocking Online Child Porn
crimeandpunishment writes "In the wake of increased international demands that it do something about its legal lenience toward child pornography, Japan is beginning to take action, albeit slowly. Thursday a government task force recommended that kiddie porn sites be blocked as soon as they're discovered, instead of waiting for an investigation or arrests. Making or distributing child porn is illegal in Japan, but possession is not ... and critics have called that a legal loophole making Japan an international hub for child porn."
This is why these laws are bullshit. For example in Canada, AFAIK (unless it was changed recently) it was OK for a 30 year old to have sex with someone as young as 14!!! That may have been hiked recently to a more reasonable 16, but not sure. *But* you only need to have text describing child porn (ie. not a drawing, not a picture of actual abuse, but text) and you can be found guilty of possession of child porn. Same thing for that 30 year old that has sex with underage person - OK to actual have sex. Not OK to have picture of it, even if it was the younger person that created it!
Another recent example is Australia banning small-breasted porn stars from XXX movies in Australia. The apparent reason (in not so many words) is people that find women with small breasts attractive are pedophiles!!!! Now, why aren't women right's groups all over this shitty law??
This is why lots of these anti-child-porn laws are bullshit. I'm all for removing child molesters from society (that includes people creating real child porn), but there are laws that are overreaching and allow almost anyone to be liable.
Kiddie porn pictures are not a substitute for "the real thing". If anything, there is considerable evidence that kiddie porn pictures incent the possessor to go and get the real thing.
Also, in most cases these pictures are sold, not given away freely. If there is a demand and a marketplace there will be folks that will supply it. All you need is a camera and a child or two. And children are pretty easy to get. If a child isn't interested in cooperating, they will be after a few slaps.
Just having such a marketplace is incredibly destructive to children. If it was all about just passing pictures around for free and children freely taking them for people's enjoyment that would be a completely different matter.