U.N fails again

[Nitro Vordex]

This is interesting. I have to agree that the amount of gratuitous rape against both women and children in the form of video games and manga coming out of Japan is kinda worrying. That being said, the respondent does bring up an interesting point of them being two separate things; that being video games != real life. Is it uncomfortable? It very much can be. But the proposal also brings up other things as well. From what I understand, this isn't just about video games; this is about women's rights in Japan in general. There's quite a bit here that is VERY troubling, and should be addressed. I'm not entirely sure about how women's rights are in Japan, but the ridiculous amount of things that come from there...hell, I'd be uncomfortable knowing that such a large amount of material exists.

[isCasted]

From what I know, Japan has the lowest gender-related crime rates, and people are mostly modest and chill. There's also this correlation in US, where crime rates got lower with the rise of videogames (although it doesn't mean games are the reason for it, it's still a possible factor).

That's one of my reasons to believe that the wilder is media, the chiller is real life.

[Sp-24]

I've read that Japan has the lowest gender crime rates because a lot of it goes underreported.

Not sure how it works so well, though. Other civilized countries also cover up things like crime statistics by race in the US, or Rotherham in the UK, and it still sees the light.

[landman]

From what I know, Japan has the lowest gender-related crime rates, and people are mostly modest and chill.

This:

I've read that Japan has the lowest gender crime rates because a lot of it goes underreported.

It's not that it is uncovered, it's that the victims will not sue their company / superiors / whatever because of their "honour", and how would it disgrace their family to know that their daughter revealed such a shameful thing.

It's hard to know if comics / games with "inappropriate" content are the result of sick minds (because they buy and like them) or sick minds are the result of consuming them (I hardly doubt it). A comic or a game, as much inappropriate as it can be, has not harm anyone in the process of creating, there is not a victim of violence or sexual abuse, and sick people that can go nuts with a movie are everywhere. Banning comics would be like banning kitchen knives on homes, because, you know, your husband could go nuts and stab you.

[the_importer_]

The United Nations was making a call on Japan to put a limit on the representation of sexual violence towards women and children in works of media (such as manga and games).
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/P...17028&LangID=E

But violence against men, that's OK, right U.N.??? So much for equality. Then again, we are talking about the same circus act that allowed Anita Sarkeesian to complain that people are criticising her on the Internet and that this should now be a crime -_-

[RuneLateralus]

I've read that Japan has the lowest gender crime rates because a lot of it goes underreported.

Not sure how it works so well, though. Other civilized countries also cover up things like crime statistics by race in the US, or Rotherham in the UK, and it still sees the light.

Considering a pop star was forced to shave her head for being caught leaving a boyfriend's apartment, breaking the rule that allows male fans to fantasize that they a shot for her, I wouldn't be surprised how the whole honor thing goes for a woman to bring up stuff like that about bosses, classmates, and spouses/significant others.

Also, can we stop with stupid sensationalism when trying to convey information.

[Outrider]

This is interesting. I have to agree that the amount of gratuitous rape against both women and children in the form of video games and manga coming out of Japan is kinda worrying. That being said, the respondent does bring up an interesting point of them being two separate things; that being video games != real life. Is it uncomfortable? It very much can be. But the proposal also brings up other things as well. From what I understand, this isn't just about video games; this is about women's rights in Japan in general. There's quite a bit here that is VERY troubling, and should be addressed. I'm not entirely sure about how women's rights are in Japan, but the ridiculous amount of things that come from there...hell, I'd be uncomfortable knowing that such a large amount of material exists.

This is actually a topic that's been written about a ton in recent years. The blogs that have been covering this issue most recently have largely just been skipping any nuance and complaining about how censorship has been ruining everything rather than discussing the actual issue in a thoughtful manner.

(Real quick: the comments in this thread pretty quickly turned into a decent discussion on the matter instead of devolving into a mess. That's pretty great!)

But violence against men, that's OK, right U.N.??? So much for equality. Then again, we are talking about the same circus act that allowed Anita Sarkeesian to complain that people are criticising her on the Internet and that this should now be a crime -_-

The fact that women suffer from sexual threats and violence more than men probably has something to do with it. It's about addressing a problem that disproportionately affects a specific group of people.

Also, can we stop with stupid sensationalism when trying to convey information.

That was the point I was trying to make at the beginning of the thread. Thank you for stating it much better than I did.

[PhotonDrop]

Censorship is censorship is censorship. Trying to take the moral high ground because of soggy knees does not make it any better, especially when it stems from baseless conjecture.

"Oh, but don't you see? These are (fictional)woman and children! You like women and children don't you? It's for their own good!"

Appeal to emotion.

It is not the UN's place to dictate how sovereign nations carry themselves, especially within their own borders. Japan is well within their rights to tell them to fuck off. Just another case of Mighty Whitey trying to save those "less enlightened" than themselves.

[Outrider]

As a reminder, we're talking about the UN (a multicultural body) putting pressure on Japan. Japan has not, from what I can see, issued a formal response.

The response in question came from an individual at an organization that uses blogspot for its homepage, so I hesitate to assume they have any kind of formal relationship with the Japanese government.

So I think we can put aside the idea that Japan has told the UN to take a hike.

As for whether Japan should disallow creators to publish work with sexual violence against women or children, well, have at it.

[Sp-24]

What are the odds that Japan will bother to issue any sort of a statement? Yamada is at least affiliated with some sort of a feminist organization in Japan. A blog post seems like a more fitting level of discussion with an organization that campaigns against saying rude things on Twitter.