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Senior Theses International Studies

Spring 5-21-2022

The Costs of Lolicon: Japan’s Pedophilia Trade

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Sluzhevsky, Megan, "The Costs of Lolicon: Japan’s Pedophilia Trade" (2022). Senior Theses. 96.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/international_senior/96

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 The Costs of Lolicon:

Japan’s Pedophilia Trade

Megan Sluzhevsky

International Studies Asia Track

[email protected]

Thesis Advisor: Asato Ikeda

Seminar Advisor: Joshua Jordan

Fordham University

Fall 2021
Table of Contents

1. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………3
2. Japanese Terms……………………….…………………………………………………...3
3. Literature Review………………………………………………………...……………….5
4. Theoretical Framework………………………………………………….……………….11
5. Introduction and Methodology…………………………………………………………..12
6. Historical Overview
1. Religious Normalization of Pedophilia…………….……..……………………...15
1. Chigo in Medieval Japanese Buddhism………...………………………..15
2. Historic Normalization of Pedophilia……………………………………………18
1. Wakashu in Edo Period Pleasure Quarters……………………………….18
2. World War II and Soft Power…………………………………………….21
3. A Modern Look…………………………………….…………………………….24
4. Impact of Pedophilia on Japan
1. Japanese Pop Culture……………………………....…………………………….26
1. Lolicon in Anime and Advertising…………..…………………………...26
2. Idol Culture and Its Victims…………………..………………………….29
3. JK Business and the Girlfriend Experience……..……………………….33
4. “Virtual” Versus “Real” Child Pornography……...……………………...36
2. Japanese Society…………………………………………..……………………..38
1. Population Decline and Feminism…………………...…………………..38
3. Japanese Economy and Polity………………………………...……...…………..41
1. Exporting and Politicizing Japan’s Soft Power………....………………..41
5. Oppositions to My Perspective…………………………………………....……………..46
6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….49
7. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..52

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Abstract

This thesis investigates Japan’s normalization of pedophilia via the proliferation of

popular culture and media. This analysis will begin by looking at historical examples of

pedophilia, specifically focusing on chigo in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, wakashu in Edo

Period pleasure quarters, and the spread of soft power diplomacy after World War II. This

phenomenon will also be viewed in the modern context by discussing lolicon in Japanese media

and advertising, idol culture in the Japanese music industry, the JK business, and “real” child

pornography. The ways that Japan benefits from this culture economically and politically will

also be investigated. Finally, this thesis will take into consideration the opinions of those who do

not see these media forms as morally reprehensible, and consider the ways this phenomenon may

or may not endanger children in real life.

Japanese Terms

Anime: derived from the English word “animation,” refers to animation originating in Japan.

This term represents a medium rather than a genre, and can include a variety of different genres

and styles of animation. However, anime characters are often associated with exaggerated

features including large eyes and faces, small and thin bodies, and brightly colored appearances.

Anime can also refer to the animated version of manga.

Chigo: “child,” a shortened version of the word chinomigo (“an unweaned child”). This term is

usually used in Medieval Japanese Buddhism (12th century to 16th century) to refer to young

trainee monks (between the ages of around 12 to 18) who were given room, board, and education

in exchange for their companionship and sexual services. Chigo often had tragic deaths, and

were sometimes revealed to be bodhisattvas posthumously.

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Kawaii: “cute,” often refers to a culture of cuteness and innocence in Japan. This term can be

used to refer to human or non-human objects that reflect a vulnerable and childlike aesthetic.

This aesthetic has become a prominent part of Japanese culture, entertainment, clothing, toys,

personal appearance, and mannerisms.

Lolicon: a portmanteau of the English words “Lolita complex,” a genre of Japanese media (often

anime, manga, or video games) that includes young (or young-looking) female characters in

sexual situations. These characters usually appear to be prepubescent, and can describe a

character as young as an infant. A lolicon can also be used as an adjective to describe a person

who is a fan of media that portrays sexualized young female characters.

Manga: refers to comics or graphic novels originating from Japan, also often representing the

comic version of anime. Like anime, manga is a medium rather than a genre and can contain

various genres and art styles.

Otaku: a Japanese word, often used pejoratively, that describes men who are intensely interested

in popular culture- usually anime, manga, video games, and animated pornography. It is usually

associated with individuals who are obsessed with these media forms to the detriment of their

social skills.

Shotacon: a portmanteau of the words “Shotaro complex,” similar to the idea of lolicon but it is

young boys that are sexualized in the media rather than young girls.

Soushoku-kei Danshi: “herbivore men,” a term used in Japan to describe men who express little

interest in relationships or marriage with women. It also often refers to men who take a less

aggressive and more passive approach in relationships with women.

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Wakashu: “young man,” a term referencing adolescent boys- particularly during the Edo period

in Japan. They were usually between the ages of 7 and 18 and were identified by their hairstyle

and outfit. This identity was transient, and wakashu would transition into adult men after their

coming-of-age ceremony. Wakashu were considered to be objects of sexual desire by adult men.

Literature Review

This section will review research that has already covered the topics discussed in this

thesis paper, particularly around pedophilia in Japanese popular culture and the economic

benefits that arise from it, for the purpose of situating my own analysis into the scholarship. The

first part of this section will cover the sources I have used to analyze the history of pedophilia in

Japan. The next part of this section will cover certain ways pedophilia is incorporated in

Japanese popular culture, followed by the ways this phenomenon has impacted the country’s

political, economic, and social structure. Finally, I will utilize sources that discuss the impact that

Japan’s pedophilic pop culture may have worldwide.

History of Pedophilia in Japan (12th Century to 20th Century)

When discussing the pervasiveness of pedophilia throughout Japanese history, I have

decided to use several case studies to represent this idea. Firstly, I will be looking at the

normalization of pedophilia in Buddhism during Medieval Japan, from the 12th to 14th century-

one of the most widely practiced relgions in Japan. In particular, I will be looking at the Chigo

figure within this religion, and the sexualization of this archetype. To do so, I will look at texts

by Christine Guth, Paul Atkins, and Or Porath who argue that Chigo were often scapegoated as a

means of sexualizing them. In particular, I will look at the texts The Divine Boy in Japanese Art

by Christine Guth, Chigo in the Medieval Japanese Imagination by Paul Atkins, and The Flower

of Dharma Nature: Sexual Consecration and Amalgamation in Medieval Japanese Buddhism by

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Or Porath. From a historical perspective, I will focus on the sexualization of wakashu during the

Edo period (1603-1867). Like Chigo, the sexualization of these young boy figures was ingrained

in the societal structure of Japan. This ideology is argued by Asato Ikeda in the text Curating a

Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints and Joshua Mostow in The Gender of

Wakashu and the Grammar of Desire. Mostow particularly outlines wakashu’s place in Edo

period Japanese society, intricately describing the social structure within which this phenomenon

took place. Ikeda goes a step further to discuss the impact that wakashu (and the art created

depicting wakashu) has in relation to our modern and Western ideology related to gender and

sexuality, and vice-versa.

For historical context, I discuss the idea of “soft power” after Japan’s loss during World

War II, and the ways that Japan utilized kawaii (“cute”) culture to win favor on the international

stage again. This political idea effectively revitalized Japan’s image after the atrocities

committed during the war, and was the policy behind the spread of anime, manga, and other

forms of cute culture- including lolicon. I look at the text Japan’s Quest for Soft Power:

Attraction and Limitation by Peng Er Lam and the texts Hello Kitty and Japan’s Kawaii

Diplomacy and Wink on Pink: Interpreting Japanese Cute as It Grabs Global Headlines by

Christine R. Yano. Lam details the impact that the losses of the war had on Japan economically

and politically, and the reasons why soft power became the ideal choice for diplomacy. Yano

looks at the modern effects of soft power and the ways they have changed Japan’s image in the

eyes of other countries.

While these texts do an excellent job of setting up the historical context of these

phenomena, my contribution to this scholarship will be to synthesize these pieces of research in

order to draw attention to a pattern that has formed throughout Japan’s history since Medieval

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times. I show that pedophilia is not a phenomon brought on simply due to entertainment value or

sexual fulfillment. Rather, it is a part of Japanese culture that has been ingrained within the

country's very social structure.

Pedophilia in Japanese Pop Culture

When discussing the ways that pedophilia has permeated in Japanese politics and

economics, it is important to first show the prevalence of this phenomenon in modern Japan.

Most obviously, the sexualization of children can be easily seen in the country’s popular culture.

Within this section, I have named the most prevalent types of popular culture where pedophilia is

included: namely within anime and manga, the idol industry, and the JK business (sometimes

referred to as the “girlfriend experience” business). When discussing pedophilia in anime and

manga, the idea of lolicon stands out the most. Author Patrick W. Galbraith is a prevalent

researchers on this topic, discussing the context and development of what he refers to as “virtual

child pornography.” Here I focus on his text Lolicon: The Reality of ‘Virtual Child Pornography’

in Japan by Galbraith. I will also look at the texts Erotic Comics in Japan: An Introduction to

Eromanga by Kaoru Nagayama and Cybercrimes in Japan: Recent Cases, Legislations,

Problems and Perspectives by Takato Natui.

The idol industry is another major factor in Japan’s normalization of pedophilia. Director

Kyoko Miyake shows the idol industry’s impact in Tokyo in the documentary Tokyo Idols. This

source is very useful in that Miyake speaks to both sides of this problem directly: the young girls

participating in idol groups and their adoring fans (who are usually men over the age of 40). By

getting this first-hand perspective, we can dive deeper into the morality and reasoning for the

existence of this industry. The texts “The Japanese Men Who Prefer Virtual Girlfriends to Sex”

by Anita Rani and Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture by Patrick W. Galbraith and

7
Jason G. Karlin are also referenced within this section, as well as in later sections about the JK

business. Rani’s writing discusses the economic and psychological events that potentially

impacted this culture in Japan, while Galbraith and Karlin’s text covers the idol industry as a

whole and the impact it has on Japanese society.

The next section will analyze the JK business, in which young girls (usually high school

age) can be “rented” for dates with older men. Here, I will particularly look at the texts Human

Trafficking in Japan Through the Use of Schoolgirls by Khyrsten Acadimia, as well as statistics

about Japanese sex trafficking from the Global Slavery Index and the US Department of State’s

2017 Trafficking in Persons Report. I will also use the news articles “The Sexual Exploitation of

Young Girls in Japan Is ‘On the Increase,’An Expert Says” by Charlie Cambell written for Time,

“For Vulnerable High School Girls in Japan, a Culture of ‘Dates’ with Older Men” by Anna

Fifield written for The Washington Post, and “Sex for Sale in Japan” written by BBC Three.

These authors discuss the reality of this industry in Japan, and how this title is often a cover for

sex trafficking and exploitation of young girls. While these sources are very valuable for laying

out the facts of this issue, they do little to analyze the larger scope and context within which this

business operates. Not unlike the section where I discuss the history of pedophilia, the ways in

which my own scholarship will differ from these authors is that my discussion of these various

factors in tandem will serve to paint the larger picture of pedophilia’s persistance in modern day

Japan.

The final section of the coverage of pedophilia in Japan’s popular culture will focus on

real child pornography. To discuss this, I will reference the texts “Sex for Sale in Japan” by BBC

Three, “Japan Outlaws Possession of Child Pornography” by Melissa Hellmann written for Time,

“Japan: Child Abuse and Child Pornography Cases Hit Record Highs in 2016” by Eleanor Ross,

8
“Is Japan Turning a Blind Eye to Paedophilia?” by Ciaran Varley, and the Japanese Penal Code.

Each of these texts outlines the contradictory and relatively lax rules related to child pornography

in Japan, siting specific statistics about the increase of child pornography in recent years. In

particular, these texts focus on the low age of consent in Japan, as well as the late illegalization

of child pornography in the country. By including each of these sections, I will disagere with

criticism against this argument that states pedophilia is an issue of the past in Japan, or that

“virtual child pornography” is a victimless crime. In reality, pedophilia is prevelant in various

forms of popular culture, and works to normalize the sexualization of minors within Japanese

society.

Impact on Japanese Society, Economy, and Polity

In this section of my thesis, I will discuss the ways Japan’s pedophilic popular culture has

impacted different facets of society. I first plan to discuss the link often made by scholars

between pop culture and the “girlfriend experience” and population decline. I examine various

texts including “The World is Running Out of Japanese People” by Dan Kopf, “Japan’s Working

Mothers: Record Responsibilities, Little Help from Dads” by Motoko Rich, “The Mystery of

Why Japanese People Are Having So Few Babies” by Alana Semuels, “An Investigation into

Japan’s Population: The Current State of Decline” by Joel Stewart, and “The Japanese Men Who

Prefer Virtual Girlfriends to Sex” by Anita Rani. I will also use statistics from Population

Projections for Japan by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research and

Tackling the Declining Birth Rate in Japan by the Centre for Public Impact. Each of these

sources discusses the phenomenon of Japan’s particularly rapid population decline and potential

factors that may influence this.

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 Following this, I plan to look at the ways Japan has benefited from this pedophilic

popular culture both politically and economically. When discussing the political impacts, I will

primarily focus on the political gains of Japan’s soft power diplomacy. To do so, I analyze the

texts Japan’s Quest for ‘Soft Power’: Attractions and Limitations by Peng Er Lam, Soft Power

Superpowers: Cultural and National Assets of Japan and the United States by Yasushi Watanabe

and David L. McConnell, “The American Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952” by Asia for

Educators, and two texts by Christine R. Yano titled Hello Kitty and Japan’s Kawaii Diplomacy

and Wink on Pink: Interpreting Japanese Cute as It Grabs Global Headlines. These texts help to

contextualize Japanese soft power historically and outline the ways this form of diplomacy has

changed Japan’s image internationally.

I will then examine the ways Japanese popular culture, particularly the ones focused on in

this thesis, have contributed to Japan’s economic growth. Along with the sources previously

listed in the popular culture section, I will also look at the texts “Sex for Sale in Japan” by BBC

Three, Sexonomic: Profits in the Global Sex Economy by Takashi Kadokura, and Regionalizing

Culture: The Political Economy of Japanese Popular Culture in Asia by Nissim Kadosh

Otmazgin. These sources illuminate the Japanese economy, specifically after World War II. They

outline the ways that soft power and the proliferation of Japanese popular culture impacted the

country’s economy and led to Japan’s economic success.

Oppositions to My Perspective

In the final section of this thesis, I will concretely define pedophilia in the context of the

rest of my paper as well as look at the opinions of those who do not feel Japanese media

normalizes pedophilia. It is important to discuss the opposing side of my argument, so as to more

deeply understand this discourse and offer an explanation of my view. I focus on the text

10
Lolicon: The Reality of ‘Virtual Child Pornography’ in Japan by Patrick W. Galbraith as he is

one of the primary researchers on lolicon and is against its censorship. I also reference the text

‘Child Abuse Material’ Legislation, Internet Regulation and the Juridification of the Imagination

by Mark J. McLelland, as he discusses his own disagreement of my opinion and also analyzes

the general view of Japanese society on the matter. Finally, I will also look at Ciaran Varley’s

text “Is Japan Turning a Blind Eye to Paedophilia?”. Varley includes quotes from artists who

work on lolicon illustrations, as well as interviews with fans of these media forms. By using

quotes from each of these authors’ works, I hope to include and discuss the opposing opinion as

well as use these texts to strengthen my own argument.

Theoretical Framework

Unlike other scholarly work on the topic of pedophilia in Japan that simply illuminates

the topic and its pervasiveness in modern Japanese culture, I plan to address the extent to which

Japan has benefited from pedophilia. Although there are various sources that address the

historical patterns that led to this culture, or the ways in which this culture is still prevalent in

things such as animation and the music industry, there are not many sources that I have found

that make a clear stance on the issue. The ones that do so, particularly the works by Patrick W.

Galbraith, who is a prominent scholar in this field, state that these forms of media do not harm

children in real life. It seems that many works about these topics serve more as an educational

tool to explain this pattern, rather than a piece of writing that has a clear stance. These texts do

not go much further than implying that this culture is morally reprehensible.

I hope to tie this pedophilic culture to Japan’s economic and political status, especially

during the time of globalization where this culture does not only affect the citizens of the country

in which it takes place. I will discuss the economic circumstances that led to this normalization,

11
but push further than prior scholarship by explaining the ways in which the country benefits from

the exploitation of children. I plan to prove that it is this very pedophilic culture that brought

Japan into prominence on the world stage. I will also mention the potential impact this form of

media could have on other countries. As Japanese popular culture gains more and more interest

worldwide, the normalization of pedophilia may permeate the borders of other countries as well-

especially the United States where the sexualization of children has never disappeared. My

research will contribute to the scholarship on this topic in that it will express the reasons why this

topic continues to be ignored; it is not just for personal entertainment, but for much more serious,

deep-reaching reasons as well.

Introduction and Methodology

Japan’s popular culture is one of the most well-known and beloved around the world

today. This spread of “soft power,” which began after the country’s loss in World War II, has

secured Japan as one of the world’s greatest economic powers, on par with the United States. In

particular, Japan is known for its kawaii, or “cute,” culture which has permeated forms of anime,

manga, video games, fashion, and even behavior. This culture revolves around a sense of

innocence and child-like sweetness, and the vulnerability it projects has become a point of

attraction for many both domestically and internationally. However, this culture has often been

sexualized as well. The eroticization of children in these forms of media, as well as child-like

characteristics and objects, can be seen throughout Japanese popular culture- particularly in

anime and manga through lolicon, the music industry through idol culture, and even the

pornography industry. In this context, pedophilia is defined as any sexual attraction or behavior

conducted towards someone under the legal age of consent. This normalization of pedophilia has

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not gone unnoticed by the Japanese government, yet the government does little to mitigate it.

Rather, the country uses pedophilic popular culture to benefit both economically and politically.

In this thesis I analyze the ways that the Japanese government and many industries, as

well as many citizens and the culture on the whole, have not only become complacent in the

normalization of the sexualization of minors, but in fact even promote it. I will do so by first

discussing aspects of the historical context that relates to the normalization of this culture,

focusing specifically on chigo in medieval Buddhism, wakashu in Edo period Japan, and the

spread of soft power after World War II. I then outline the various ways that pedophilic culture

has permeated Japanese popular culture by looking at the examples of lolicon, the idol industry,

the JK business, and the prevalence of “real” child pornography. Following this, I will analyze

how Japan has benefited and continues to benefit from the continuation of this culture. I also

discuss the ways in which this pedophilic culture may impact the country going forward, and

even how it may impact other countries worldwide. Through this analysis, I will show that the

sexualization of minors is ingrained in Japan’s societal structure and that the country has little

motivation to stop its spread.

This research will explain how this phenomenon has set a precursor for a casual

acceptance of pedophilia in Japan. Through both societal and religious means, the sexualization

of children has become ingrained in Japanese culture. However, it is often an untouched topic in

Japanese media and scholarship. I will explain this long-term normalization first by looking at

the religious justification of pedophilia through the figure of chigo in Buddhism. For historical

representation, I have chosen to look particularly at the Edo Period’s pleasure quarters and

sexualization of wakashu. Despite an abundance of examples, I have chosen these two topics to

highlight an integration of pedophilia into the religious and social structure of Japan. These

13
examples of pedophilia were an unavoidable aspect of Japanese culture that nearly all citizens

would have interacted with.

I will then cover several examples of the normalization of pedophilia in modern-day

Japan, particularly by looking at the country’s well-known popular culture. I plan to pay

especially close attention to lolicon in anime and manga, idol culture, and the JK business

(including examples of “girlfriend experience” services). Through various sources including the

perspectives of girls within the idol industry, I will explain the ways that pedophilia is still

common in Japanese culture. I will expand on this topic by analyzing scholarly texts and a

documentary film that cover these topics, especially focusing on sources that include the

perspective of young people who are sexualized. I will also look at the ways that lolicon and

shotacon are smoothly integrated into popular animation, often in ways that people do not notice

and completely accept without issue.

I will then look at the impact of pedophilia on Japan in three aspects: economics, politics,

and society. Economically, I consider the impact that prior financial depressions had on the

country. In particular, the Second World War was a very formative time for the current state of

Japanese culture, particularly in the ways that soft power was utilized in Japan’s financial

recovery. I will also look at modern economic struggles for the general population, including

instability in work and the rise of a female workforce. Politically, I study the ways that Japan has

interacted with other countries during this period of expanding global symbiosis. I am also

interested to see if any political platforms in the country have relied on pedophilic culture for

their success. Finally, I look at the ways this phenomenon has impacted Japan socially. In

particular, I am interested in the way this phenomenon has affected the mental health of the

population. I particularly look at sources discussing the mental health of young people in the

14
entertainment industry or JK business, and the men who consume these forms of media. Perhaps

most importantly, I will discuss the impact this culture has on the pertinent issue of population

decline.

Lastly, I will briefly look at the impact Japanese pop culture has had globally and the

ways that the increased spread of this pop culture has influenced the normalization of pedophilia

worldwide. I will do so by looking at the extent of the popularity of Japanese culture abroad,

particularly in Western culture. I plan to examine the ways that the spreading of this culture may

desensitize other countries to the sexualization of minors. However, it is important to talk about

the ways that this culture is already normalized in the West. This may be one of the limitations of

this section. Another limitation may the the extent to which I can measure Japanese culture’s

impact on Western views of pedophilia. I attempt to address this issue by finding first-hand

sources of people who engage with this form of popular culture, and discuss the rise and spread

of otaku culture in the West.

Historical Overview
Religious Normalization of Pedophilia

1. Chigo in Medieval Japanese Buddhism

A normalization of pedophilia in Japanese culture can be tracked through both religion

and history, even if these instances were not viewed as pedophilia while they were occuring. One

such example, as discussed by author Paul Atkins in Chigo in the Medieval Japanese

Imagination, are chigo. Atkins defines the term as “adolescent males attached to Buddhist

temples or aristocratic households who were educated, fed, and housed in exchange for personal,

including sexual, services” (947). Chigo played an important role in both Buddhist culture and

religion, often being featured in dramaticized stories throughout medieval art and literature. Even

15
so, Atkins points out that they were often exploited sexually in their relationships with monks;

these relationships had inherent power dynamics due to differences in both age and societal

position, yet were idealized through the various forms of media in which they were portrayed.

Like the sexualized class of young men during the Edo period known as wakashu, the

chigo figure is often thought to be a “child”- even though the technical definitions and

parameters of this title varied. Much scholarship points out that the term chigo was based more

on cultural determinations rather than their particular age. This category was fluid, with some

titles indicating factors including social, occupational, and religious statuses (Porath, 51). Even

when categorized by age, the particular age in which a boy stops being a chigo and becomes a

fully-fledged adult was not standard. The average age of chigo, however, is considered to be

under the age of 19. For all intents and purposes of this paper, the chigo I will be referring to will

be classified as children (at least in the way we define children in the modern day: under the age

of 18).

Atkins analyzes chigo by comparing their fictionalized representation in stories and their

real lived experiences. He points out one particularly famous fictional chigo story, titled “A Long

Tale for an Autumn Night.” In this story, a lonely Buddhist priest spiritually manifests a heavenly

young chigo boy and develops an immediate infatuation with him, which leads to a love affair.

The boy is eventually made to return home, leaving the priest grief-stricken. Although the boy

makes attempts to see the older man again, a series of miscommunications prevents this from

happening, which leads to the young chigo’s suicide. When the priest finds the boy’s body, the

tragedy turns out to be a necessary spiritual awakening for him. This story reflects what Atkins

refers to as the “scapegoat theory,” in which chigo are “specially selected as surrogate victims of

socially sanctioned violence whose role is to deflect or absorb violence that would otherwise tear

16
apart the community” (964). In other words, they are used as a sacrifice and a tool for the monks’

salvation; they are a pawn that must fall for the rest of their community to benefit. The harm that

chigo must face is seen as a necessary evil, and is therefore accepted and normalized.

These fictional stories of chigo also reflect the normalization of sex with young bodies.

Within his scapegoat theory, Atkins also claims that chigo were elevated to divine status and

therefore dehumanized. This allows the monks to have both romantic and sexual relationships

with them that are deemed appropriate within the religion. Had the chigo not been considered

divine or other-wordly, and were simply regular young boys, it would be considered taboo for a

monk to have this kind of relationship with them. Therefore, these stories become a convenient

way for monks to fantasize about and indulge in sexual relationships with these children without

any moral repercussions. In many ways, this can be related to the phenomenon of lolicon and

shotacon in modern Japan, which will be discussed later in this thesis.

While I claim in this analysis that the relationships between chigo and monks may reflect

a historical pattern of pedophilia normalization, one may question whether or not we can discuss

this topic from not only a modern perspective, but from a secular one as well. Naturally, the

sexualization of chigo in medieval Japan was not seen as pedophilic or morally abhorrent in any

way. I feel that it is imperative to contextualize this phenomenon, and therefore understand that

these monks, nor medieval society at large, did not feel they were committing any form of crime.

If this was an isolated phenomenon in which children (fictional or otherwise) were sexualized at

one single point in history, perhaps it would be easier to deny this historical normalization.

However, as I hope to illustrate in this paper, this phenomenon was not a product of just this time

period but rather a pattern that would prevail in Japan in both ancient and modern time periods.

Rather than an immediate causal relationship, I am highlighting a suggestive cultural precedent

17
for pedophilia normalization in Japan. For this reason, we can look at the sexualization of chigo

as one point in this precedent, and use it to further analyze the ways this pattern developed and

became ingrained in Japanese society and culture.

Historical Normalization

1. Wakashu in Edo Period Pleasure Quarters

Figure 1. Anonymous. Aloeswood Incense Pillow of Youngman-Play, Scene 2. 1675.

The Edo period in Japan, which lasted from 1603 to 1867, is known as the period with

the greatest amount of political stability and economic growth in Japanese history. Referred to as

Japan’s renaissance period, this peaceful time saw a flourishing of Japan’s traditional arts and

music. In addition, this time period is famous for the exploration and proliferation of sex both in

real life and in art. Shunga, or pornographic works of art, were prevalent during this time and

were created for masterbatory purposes. They often portrayed images of beautiful people, and

many images depicted young women, including prostitutes. Other images depicted wakashu, a

class of adolescent boys during this time (usually under the age of the 18) that were considered

to be objects of sexual desire for older men. These images were sexually explicit, with clear

visuals of genitalia and active sexual intercourse.

18
 In his text titled The Gender of Wakashu and the Grammar of Desire, Joshua Mostow

discusses the structures of sexuality during Edo-period Japan, particularly focusing on the role of

wakashu. The term wakashu refers to adolescent boys who had yet to complete their coming of

age ceremony. Wakashu, in Mostow’s text, are classified as a different gender than adult men,

although it is important to note that the way gender is defined in this text differs from our

modern and Western conceptions. Mostow states that during this time, gender was seen more as a

role played in society; wakashu were not given this title due to their biological sex, nor their own

identification. Instead, this title was defined based on the young mens’ age and place in society

(particularly in relation to the affection they received from the older men at the center of this

society).

As part of his discussion of wakashu, Mostow illuminates the strict sexual hierarchy

during this time. Referred to as “phallocentric pansexuality,” desire revolved around the older

men in society. These men, called otoko, could express sexuality both with wakashu and with

women (sometimes further classified as wives or onna, and prostitutes or joro). Regardless of

gender or age, otoko’s pleasure was the focus of sexuality and they could choose to copulate with

whomever they wanted. In other words, older men were at the top of both the social and sexual

hierarchy, followed by wakashu and ending with women, creating a misogynistic societal norm.

This sexual structure, particularly the sexual desires older men had towards wakashu, is depicted

in the anonymous picture-book Aloeswood Incense Pillow of Youngman-Play (1675). This

pornographic book displays various images of older men having sex with younger men, and is

targeted towards the older men who enjoyed this preference and expressed “devotion” towards

wakashu. Not only do the images show the power dynamic of these relationships and the level to

which wakashu are desired, it also shows the unattractiveness of women in equal measure.

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Women were portrayed as both physically and mentally unnapealing, and artistic depictions of

sex with wakashu coincided with depictions of the men’s wives in tears. Although young

concubines could compete with wakashu at times, older women were seen as lesser-than and

unworthy of sexual pursuit.

Sexuality as it was understood in the Edo period clearly does not coincide with our

modern, Western views of the issue. The concept that most strongly goes against contemporary

Western morality is the pedophilic nature of the relationships between wakashu and otoko. As

previously mentioned, wakashu are only in this role before they are considered to be adult men.

Although there is no concrete age, various sources estimate the typical age of wakashu to be

between 7 and 25 years old.

These artistic depictions of young boys can be compared to Japan’s modern version of

this phenomena: lolicon and shotacon. However, it is important to differentiate the context

within which these two art phenomena are situated. Sexually explicit artwork involving wakashu

was normalized at the same time that having sex with wakashu was integrated into the very core

of Japanese society. It was not considered to be pedophilic or inappropriate in any way; sex with

young people during this time was often attributed to a shorter average lifespan and a lack of the

puritanical Christian beliefs that came later in Japan’s history. Lolicon and shotacon art, on the

other hand, is still mostly ostracized by people outside of the fandom as it is seen as “virtual

child pornography” (Galbraith). Although there is a large fanbase for this content, many Japanese

citizens find it equally disturbing.

Historian Timon Screech analyzes the ways that Japan has viewed pornography

throughout history and pornography during that time differs from its modern portrayal in his text

Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820. Edo period Japanese artists

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openly created shunga for masterbatory purposes. These Floating World images are almost

synonymous with the Edo period, and the images did not shy away from depicting genitalia and

sexual intercourse in various ways. Interestingly, Japan’s openness towards sexuality diminished

as the influence of the West grew stronger. The time following the Edo Period, known as the

Meiji Period, is most associated with the ending of Japan’s isolationist policies and an increased

effect of Europe and the United States. With this came Christian ideals of modesty. During this

time, Emperor Meiji created campaigns against obscenity in art and theater as part of the Meiji

Restoration. These campaigns changed the way Japan viewed sex from then on. Edo period

Japan, a time of sexual “liberation”, became one of conservatism and chastity.

2. World War II and Soft Power

In this section, I will look at the ways that Japan rebranded itself as an epicenter of

popular culture after the atrocities they committed during World War II. It is this very rebranding

that led to the spread of their popular culture around the world- not excluding the spread of the

normalization of pedophilia within various media forms. After Japan’s defeat in the Second

World War, the Japanese government and its citizens had to reckon with the effects of the

atrocities they had committed. It was during this time that Japan was infamous for what is

sometimes referred to as an “Asian Holocaust”; mass rapes and killings, biological warfare,

torture, canibalism, and human experimentation are some of the crimes that Japan was officially

charged with in the Tokyo Trials of 1945. Not only was there material ruin, but psychological

ruin as well.

Immediately following the defeat, Japan focused on economic reconstruction and re-entry

into the international community. The government had to settle issues regarding the reparations

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they owed, as well as reform diplomatic ties between Japan and the other world powers. The

United States occupied Japan after 1945 and, headed by General Douglas MacArthur, committed

to implementing the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. This included a variety of social and

economic reforms, as well as a dismantling of the standing Japanese military. In addition, Japan’s

constitution was discarded and a new American-written one was put in its place. Approximately

$23 billion was arranged by the U.S. occupation authorities and was shipped to China, the

Philippines, Indonesia, and the British colonies in East Asia. Once these obligations were settled,

the Japanese government was able to concentrate on reconceptualizing themselves in a favorable

view to the rest of the world. Both government-sponsored official movements, such as the “Cool

Japan” movement (1980) and unofficial shifts in Japan’s cultural and artistic landscape aided in

this.

By the 1970s and 1980s, Japan had become an economic powerhouse and the Japanese

government was able to put more thought and resources into cultural diplomacy. According to

Peng Er Lam, “Post-war Japan [could not] exercise hard military power to coerce other states”

(353). This was because Japan was still controlled by the constitutional restrictions placed on it

by the United States. A wave of “mass pacifism” formed as a result of the destruction and losses

the nation faced in the war, so Japan instead turned to cultural diplomacy, foreign relations, and

foreign aid. The government created policies to promote “soft power” because they simply did

not have another option. Through this ideological shift (and the influence of the U.S.

Occupation), Japan’s “miracle” economic growth skyrocketed them to become the world’s

second largest economy by the 1980s.

The idea of “soft power” that we know today, described by anthropologist Christine R.

Yano as the ability to “indirectly influence behavior or interests through cultural or ideological

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means” (Wink on Pink, 683), was not always connected solely to popular culture. Long before its

use of anime, manga, and kawaii characters, Japan relied on the Japan Foundation, The Japan

Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer Program, and

Official Development Assistance (Lam, 354). Some of these programs continue to make strides

for Japan’s foreign relations even today; the JET Program is a government initiative that brings

in English-speaking college graduates to teach English in Japan and is one of the biggest

promoters of cultural diplomacy between Japan and the United States.

From the 1970s onward, Japanese anime, manga, fashion, video games, music,

technology, and kawaii culture began to proliferate domestically and abroad. This culture, which

was inherently tied to the country’s governmental policies, became ubiquitous in all facets of

Japanese daily life. Anime and manga began to receive a substantial following across the world,

from China to the United States and Europe. I will further discuss this important phenomenon in

later sections of this thesis. Around this time, the character Hello Kitty was created- a perfect

example to discuss the pervasiveness of Japan’s soft power. Hello Kitty has since become the

adorable face of “Cool Japan,” a form of Japan’s soft power strategy created by the Japanese

Ministry of Foreign Affairs to increase the attractiveness of Japan’s culture abroad and to shift

the image of Japan from militarization to cool/cute culture. According to Tsuji Shintaro, the

founder of Sanrio and Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty was always intended to be a global product.

Many of the millions of consumers of Hello Kitty products have never cared about her

character’s story; instead, she had become a branded good. She was popular more as a

marketable image rather than a fully-realized individual. The obsession with Hello Kitty

worldwide solidified her as the “icon of cute femininity in Asia” (Wink on Pink, 681). The idea

of Japan no longer elicited images of samurai swords or POW camps, but rather kittens, the color

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pink, and child-like innocence. Alongside anime, manga, and video games, the spread of the

Hello Kitty phenomenon helped to rebrand Japan and offered comfort and sweetness to Kitty’s

fans across the globe.

The 1980s “Cool Japan” movement is another offshoot of this soft-power phenomenon

that followed World War II. During this time, Japan’s rebranding effort became more centralized

and government-oriented. Following the success of Japanese soap operas internationally, the

government pushed for more of Japan’s popular culture- including television shows, music,

animation, and video games- to be promoted globally. This was a success that benefited Japan

both politically and economically, as will be discussed later in this paper. The kawaii (“cute”)

phenomenon played a huge role in the Soft Power campaign’s success. However, this kawaii

culture quickly became intrinsically tied to sexuality. Although it is difficult to track the reasons

for this, Japan’s simultaneous association of cute things and with pornographic material became

woven together and is now often closely associated with one another. In this way, things that are

often seen as “childish” are also often seen as “sexy” in modern-day Japan.

A Modern Look

When looking at Japan’s relationship with pedophilia today, we can point to a variety of

legislation in order to understand Japanese responses to the issue. Article 175 of the Japanese

Criminal Code stipulates that “a person who distributes, sells, or displays in public an obscene

document, drawing, or other objects shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more

than 2 years, a fine of nore more than 2,500,000 yen ($25,000) or a petty fine. The same shall

apply to a person who possesses the same with the purpose of sale” (Japanese Law Translation).

It should be noted that what constitutes as “obscene” is not clearly outlined in this legislation.

Despite Article 21 of the same code claiming that formal censorship is prohibited, the modern

24
understanding of pornography is that most of it must be censored at least partially. Therefore, the

rules of what must be censored in Japanese pornography are often confusing; for example,

genitalia and penetration must be censored in porn featuring real humans, but animated porn

featuring sex with a child can be uncensored. In his text Cybercrimes in Japan: Recent Cases,

Legislations, Problems and Perspectives, law professor Takato Natsui claims that very few

arrests have been made for those who fail to censor pornography, however.

Despite Japanese censorship laws around pornography, the government only formally

passed legislation claiming the illegality of child pornography in 2014. This relatively recent law

states that those in possession of explicit photographs or videos of children can be imprisoned for

1 year and fined up to 1 million yen ($10,000). Time journalist Melissa Hellman states that this

legislation was a result of international pressure to tighten possession laws, and “despite banning

the production and distribution of child pornography in 1999, Japan is the last OECD nation to

make possession a punishable offense.” According to the 2017 US Department of State’s

human-rights report, Japan is the “international hub for the production and trafficking of child

pornography.” Takato Natsui claims that the laws in place aim to prohibit child pornography, but

do little to protect the children at risk. He states, “There are many court rulings. However,

sometimes these court rulings contradict each other on the interpretation of this law, due to some

ambiguousness of aims and expression in the definition clause of this law” (17). This is the

context within which I discuss modern day conceptions of pedophilia in this country. Today,

pedophilia is rampant within the country’s popular culture and media. However, more pressingly,

both child pornography and child sex-trafficking are occuring at high rates. By understanding the

historical context of these modern problems, we can begin to understand the ways that Japan

benefits from the exploitation of minors.

25
Impact of Pedophilia On Japan
Japanese Pop Culture

1. Lolicon in Anime and Advertising

Despite the intensity with which conformity and homogeneity are emphasized in

Japanese society, the $5.5-billion adult entertainment industry in Japan is known for sexual

extremes that rebel against modesty. In particular, a genre of erotic art known as lolicon, is not

only popular but openly promoted. Lolicon is defined as “manga, anime, and games that feature

‘underage’ characters in sexual and sometimes violent situations” (Galbraith, 84). Fans of this

genre claim that their attraction is solely to the fictional children depicted, and not to real

children. However, it is arguable that the normalization and pervasiveness of lolicon in Japan has

desensitized many to the sexualization of real children, as will be discussed later in this thesis.

Although this type of pornography is not only legal but actively endorsed in popular culture, in

reality it is a prime example of how pedophilic imagery has slid into mainstream Japanese

culture.

The lolicon genre is situated within the larger genre of shojo (girls) manga and anime,

which has dominated Japanese media from the 1970s onward due to its idealization of cuteness

and innocence. According to author Patrick Galbraith, this “idealized Eros” became attached to

the imagery of young girls over time, which ended up forming the lolicon subgenre within this

larger umbrella term. In the 1980s, adult magazines containing pornographic images of young

girls proliferated; many of these images showed seemingly prepubescent bodies, absent of

breasts and body hair. Some scholars, such as Galbraith, believe this could be tied to Japanese

obscenity laws (such as Article 175) which prohibited images displaying pubic hair and bare

26
breasts. However, this imagery is undeniably tied to the image of a young girl who has not yet

gone through puberty.

Galbraith goes on to say that the rise of this subgenre grew as more adult male fans of

shojo manga began to produce self-published manga works, called doujinshi. Many of the

characters seen within popular doujinshi artworks displayed the aesthetic of kawaii eroticism,

with more simplified art styles representing young girls. The popularity of this genre flooded the

anime and manga industry during the 1980s, sometimes referred to as a “lolicon boom,” which

only continued into the 1990s and 2000s. A smaller boom in the early 2000s is attributed to the

creation of the erotic magazine Comic LO. The LO in the magazine’s title stands for “lolita

only.” Published by Akane Shinsha since 2002, this manga features sexually explicit images of

illustrated children. One of the magazine’s artists, Amagappa Shojogun, stated in a tweet that he

was ironically told to draw characters around the age of nine, as the previous images he had

drawn with girls around the age of eight were too young looking (Nagayama, 111). This shows

that this magazine is aware and open of the sexualization of children in their art.

Figure 2. Ichigo Mashimaro Advertisement in Akihabara, Tokyo.

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 It is no secret that lolicon is popular in Japan today; when walking around the

electronics-slash-anime district Akihabara in Tokyo, erotic imagery of illustrated prepubescent

girls are plastered in the fronts of many stores and are used as advertisements on the front of

manga and video games. Those who are fans of lolicon anime and manga will go out of their

way to purchase content with their favorite characters, or even just because of the image of a cute

loli girl. Sex sells, and for this reason lolicon imagery is still often used in advertising. It is also

common to see young anime girls in hentai (animated) pornography. Many lolicon artists do not

attempt to hide that these girls are depictions of children. While some fans may claim they are

ageless as they are nothing more than drawings, much of the pornography featuring these loli

characters openly refer to the girls as elementary or middle-school students and even opt to

include them in the actual school uniforms. Galbraith states that “critics such as Naito Chizuko

have called Japan a ‘loliconized society,’ where lolicon has come to represent ‘societal desire in a

broader sense’” (84). While lolicon images are just images, it is not a stretch to see the link

between those who gain sexual gratification from drawings of children and those who gain

sexual gratification from images of actual children. As will be discussed later, a connection can

be drawn between the popularity of lolicon and statistics around real child pornography in Japan.

While Japan is not the only country to openly sexualize young girls and eroticize school

uniforms, it is rare in countries like the United States to see such young girls so openly and so

often explicitly sexualized.

The popularity of lolicon is often associated in scholarship with a much larger modern

trend in Japan called soushoku-kei danshi, or “herbivore” men. This term refers to men who are

passive rather than active in the pursuit of dating women. Author Anita Rani states that these

men often choose fake or even virtual girlfriends over real ones. There are many different

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platforms and services that offer a pseudo-relationship experience to men who do not want to

pursue real women. Popular dating games encourage men to woo pixelated anime girls, with

some games even containing virtual sex scenes for the men to engage in. Some scholars believe

that the Japanese culture of modesty and repression is one of the major causes for this shift in

men’s preferences from real to virtual.

2. Idol Culture and Its Victims

Idols, young girls trained and marketed for their attractiveness in the Japanese

entertainment industry, have been growing in numbers since the 1980s. They are usually

advertised as singers, dancers, models, and starlet figures, and can range from the age of eight

and up. The term “idols” specifically refers to starlets who are brought up from amateur status,

with little to no prior experience in the entertainment industry; idols often lose popularity after

the age of eighteen. The majority of their devoted fanbase consists of adult men who see this

interest as an escape from their often grueling and mundane life. According to these fanatics, a

main attraction is the girls’ youth; for this reason, talent agencies specifically scout very young

girls with no prior experience to train from a young and inexperienced age, thus creating intense

fanbases that grow alongside the idol. This phenomenon is explored deeply in the documentary

film Tokyo Idols, directed by Kyoko Miyake. In this film, the director speaks to both idols and

fans to get their perspective on the popularity of this industry, and also speaks to anthropologists,

psychologists, and even economists to discuss the greater impact of this culture.

Fans are captivated by the idols’ innocence, and many claim that it is this innocence that

provides a sense of ease from their daily struggles. In recent years, the number of teenage girls

dubbed “idols” has increased to around 10,000 in Japan (McAlpine). The association and

fetishization of youth within idol culture is particularly notable. Tokyo Idols portrays this side of

29
the fandom, in which adult male fans seek out new girls to idolize as they are introduced to this

fast-paced industry. In one confessional interview shown in the film, a fan states that the younger

the idol is, the more he is attracted to her. He justifies this by saying he enjoys watching her grow

and develop into a fully fledged entertainer, but it is clear to the audience that the relationship is

deeper. The documentary coins the term “expiration date:” after they reach the age of 18, these

girls find it significantly more difficult to maintain a strong fanbase and further expand their

career. For this reason, families will often enter their daughters into idol contracts from

prepubescence.

This nationwide infatuation with young girls, often seen in idol culture but also in other

forms of popular culture, shows a preference for women whom the men can dominate. Men are

often attracted to women much younger than them, or women who are more “submissive”; this

power dynamic inherently creates relationships where the man is in control. In the 1990s, Japan

suffered a rapid decline in its economy, leaving the masses in a state of insecurity. In Tokyo Idols,

economist and industrial analyst Masayoshi Sakai makes a connection between mens’ economic

insecurity and their interest in idols. He discusses how an idol’s job (and generally the job of all

women in the eyes of many Japanese men) is to smile and comfort men. Many of these men feel

that loving these idols gives them confidence, and they feel a sense of solidarity within the

fandom. They can identify themselves within a group of men like them, and feel accepted by the

idol girls whose sole job is to entertain them and “love” them. Idols feed and comfort the

insecurities that stem from these men’s poor financial situation, without any of the other

“baggage” that comes with having a girlfriend. Idols provide the comfort and attractiveness of a

woman without any of the difficulties inherent to being in a real relationship.

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 Feeding the male fantasy is at the center of idol culture, and one of the clearest examples

are the handshake events held by the entertainment companies that own the idol groups. These

events provide an opportunity for the fans to interact with the idols face to face. Fans purchase a

ticket and are shuffled in lines to spend a minute speaking with an idol while holding her hand.

After the minute is up, an event worker will physically move the fan along to the next idol. In the

documentary Tokyo Idols, Masayoshi Sakai speaks about the historical connotations linked with

the act of shaking hands. Throughout Japanese history, handshakes have been seen as a sexual

gesture, as many forms of touching were forbidden. It is only in the last few decades that

handshakes have become widely acceptable. Although handshakes have become more

normalized, Sakai notes that “bringing in the handshake events was a very smart move. From the

[idols’] perspective, it seems very innocent. But for fans, there is probably a sexual component to

it.” (Tokyo Idols). These events fulfill a sort of sexual fantasy and allow fans to receive

gratification from the experience, without actually interacting sexually with the idol.

It is difficult to understand who is responsible for allowing this overt sexualization of

young idol girls. Those within the idol fandom, or others who sympathize with these parasocial

relationships, feel that the men are not to blame in this situation. Rather, the blame should fall on

the girl and her family who chose this career path for her. Many do not see a problem with the

“little girl fantasy” enjoyed by many idol fans. Journalist Minori Kitahara disagrees with this

complacency, and draws a parallel between the attitude within this culture and the attitude within

Japanese culture as a whole- the idea that a women’s role is to serve male fantasies. In the

documentary, she states, “Instead of connecting with women in their everyday life, the men

choose girls they can dominate, girls who are guaranteed not to challenge or hurt them. This

society will stop at nothing to protect male fantasies and provide comfort for men” (Tokyo

31
Idols). This male fantasy is heavily protected in Japanese society, with those (such as scholars,

journalists, and filmmakers like Kitahara) calling attention to it or criticizing it receiving heavy

backlash. In speaking out against the normalization of pedophilia and protection of male

fantasies in this culture, Minori Kitahara claims that she had experienced “aggressive backlash”

when she, an outsider to this phenomena, discussed and criticized it heavily (Tokyo Idols).

Others who speak out against this culture, including scholars, journalists, and even former idols

themselves, receive harsh criticism from idol fanbases.

In recent years, there has been rampant growth of the idol industry, now assumed to be

worth about $1 billion in Japan alone. One idol fan interviewed in the documentary, a corporate

salaried worker in his mid-50s, stated that he spends about $2000 a month to see his favorite

idol. All in all, he estimates that he has gone to about 700 of her shows in the past year alone

(McAlpine). Not only is the popularity of idol culture growing, but many men who participate in

it feel that the parasocial relationships they have with the idols can replace real relationships with

women. Some fans spend immense time and money seeing idols perform and waiting for meet

and greets; their primary goal is to attend so many events that the idol may remember their face

and name when they come to their shows. Sociologist Satoshi Hamano states in an interview

that, “At my university, I meet a lot of young guys who 15 years ago would have had girlfriends.

They say they’ve never been in love. They love idols. There’s no incentive to be in a relationship

nowadays.” He goes on to state that, in his professional opinion, idols should be banned from

Japan.

Idol culture is only one of many examples of services in Japan that emulate or completely

take the place of romantic relationships with women (many of which I will elaborate on in later

sections). The idea is not to provide sexual gratification; many men are looking for services that

32
provide psychological and physical comfort that is not inherently sexual. These various outlets

provide no incentive to marry or procreate- an issue at the center of Japan’s modern-day

concerns. With the severity of the population decline in Japan, these new cultural developments

are concerning for the country. Idol obsession is one obstacle that the Japanese government faces

in its attempt to incentivize the growth of families. Not only does this phenomenon have bearing

on one of the biggest issues facing Japan, it also shows the continuation of the male-dominated

and male fantasy-driven society. As of now, it does not seem that the Japanese government has

an effective plan for depopularizing idol culture or any of the other comfort services used in

place of marriage.

3. JK Business and the Girlfriend Experience

Figure 3. Kikuchi, Daisuke. Image of High-School-Aged

Girls Working for JK Business. 4 Aug, 2017. The Japan Times.

An even more pressing example is the JK Business, also known as the “high school

dating” business, in which young girls (often runaways) are coerced and trafficked into

prostitution. This is in line with the pervasive problem of child pornography being created and

sold in places like the anime district of Tokyo, Akihabara- an area covered in lolicon advertising

33
in front of many stores. Although many of the “compensated dating” practices available to

paying customers claim to be legal, in reality many businesses target girls under the legal age of

consent in Japan and coerce them into binding contracts that they are unable to escape from. For

reference, the age of consent in Japan is technically 13, but differing laws in some prefectures

(such as in Tokyo) may raise this to be 16 or 17. This will be further discussed later in the thesis.

While some claim media like lolicon does not have real victims as the child characters are

illustrated, the JK industry is a very real issue with very real victims and can be pointed to as yet

another facet of the pervasive pedophilic culture in Japan.

As mentioned previously, the laws in Japan’s Penal Code regarding the sex and

pornography industry are numerous, unclear, and often contradictory. Due to many legal

loopholes related to this industry, there are hundreds of bars in Tokyo’s red light district of

Kabukicho that employ high school aged girls who advertise to go on paid dates with customers-

almost always older men. These men pay for the girls' company, as the businesses often state

upfront that the services of the girls are nothing more than innocent actions such as holding

hands, taking walks, or conversing. However, many of these services often transform into sexual

favors that are not offered in the initial fee but can be done through outside “arrangements.”

Because prostitution is illegal in Japan, this is done under the table (but is an open secret).

According to one young woman who worked for the JK Business, she claimed that her boss

looked to hire girls who appeared to be between the ages of 15 and 18. She also claimed that her

boss, as well as a large percentage of her clientele, requested that she wore her real high school

uniforms during their meetings (Acadimia, 2).

In speaking to victims of the compensated dating industry, journalist Charlie Cambell

claims that this scam often begins when a person posing as a legitimate modeling agent targets

34
young and vulnerable women. They are made to sign convoluted contracts which rope them into

appearing in pornographic videos or joining older men on pre-paid dates. At the threat of legal

ramifications, women become enslaved to these contracts and have little option to escape.

Cambell claims that “the coercion of young women into pornography and prostitution has

become an epidemic in Japan, where the fetishization of adolescence is disturbingly common and

legal protections for children is shockingly lax.” According to the founder of the Lighthouse

NGO, which helps victims of sex trafficking in Japan, Shihoko Fujiwara claims that there have

been over 100 new reported cases of sex trafficking in 2019- on top of the hundreds previously

reported. In 2018, the Global Slavery Index reported that an estimated 37,000 people lived in

conditions of modern slavery in Japan, with about 70% of this being attributed to sexual slavery.

This study also states that there were about 5,000 victims of sex trafficking as a result of the JK

Business, although this number is incredibly difficult to pinpoint.

The 2017 Trafficking in Persons report conducted by the United States Department of

State finds that Japan is ranked as a tier 2 country for sex trafficking. This tier is defined as

“countries whose governments do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s

minimum standards.” These standards, as outlined in the act in 2000, require the country to

submit an assessment of the government’s anti-trafficking efforts that are then judged by the

United States Congress. Some effort has been made by the Japanese government to mitigate the

rampant sexual abuse of women in Japan- particularly young women. In one instance, the

Japanese government did work to increase prosecutions and convictions of traffickers in 2015,

although this did not prosecute trafficking crimes in accordance with international law. There has

been an attempt to increase sensitivity training for law enforcements in Japan to combat sex

trafficking, including lectures on human rights conducted by university professors. However, this

35
has done little to improve legal conviction of traffickers, as “The government reported

investigating 44 cases for crimes related to human trafficking in 2016, the same as in 2015. It

initiated prosecution of 43 suspected traffickers in 2016 (26 in 2015) and convicted 37 traffickers

(27 in 2015) during the reporting period. Ten of the 37 convicted traffickers received only fines”

(2017 Trafficking in Persons Report- Japan).

Similar to the results of Japan’s popular idol industry, the JK business acts as a substitute

for a real girlfriend for many in Japan. Not only do the girls working within this business offer

dates and even sex without the commitment of a fully-fledged relationship, they also offer an

opportunity for pedophiles to easily access minors under the age of 18 to have sex with without

reprucussion. While the Japanese government claims that it will attempt to crack down on this

business, it is well known that these services are offered in the red light districts of Japan and, in

fact, have only been on the rise in recent years with the proliferation of the internet. The fact that

this service is so common is yet another example of the normality of pedophilia within Japanese

society. Compared to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea,

and other Trafficking in Persons Report Tier 1 countries, Japan has not actively combatted

against the sex trafficking of minors and often relies on the support of non-governmental

organizations. This is one example of the pervasiveness of pedophilia in Japan and the

governments complacency.

4. “Virtual” Versus “Real” Child Pornography

Although there are many examples of popular culture in Japan that can be compared to

child pornography, it is imperative to understand the level of popularity of “real” child

pornography and the response the Japanese government has to its production and distribution.

One study discussed in economist Takashi Kadokura’s book Sexonomic: Profits in the Global

36
Sex Economy claims that 15% of the male population of Japan has seen child pornography while

10% own it. This statistic was drawn from a wide survey conducted by the Japanese government,

which may be less shocking when one realizes that Japanese pornography was only made fully

illegal in 2014. This law was enacted only after intense international pressure, and finally

prosecuted those in possession of child pornography. Even then, the sentencing for those found

in possession of the material is light in comparison to other developed countries; the maximum

jail sentence is one year, and the maximum fine is 1 million yen, or about $10,000.

Naturally, the fact that this law has been enacted in Japan has not curbed the desire to

view sexually provocative images of minors. If lolicon pornography or JK business dates do not

satisfy, a popular type of pornography called chaku ero, or “erotically clothed,” pornography

exists and features pornstars of all ages. These images are considered to be a form of soft-core

pornography, where the subjects are not fully nude but often get close to it, still providing the

audience with sexualized imagery.

In the BBC Three documentary Young Sex for Sale in Japan, journalist Stacey Dooley

spoke to a producer of chaku ero films who chose to remain anonymous. When asking the

average age of the subjects who appeared in the films, the producer answered that the filmmakers

make more money filming children than they do older girls. He stated that the youngest subject

of one of his films was a six-year-old girl, who was filmed in a bathing suit playing with toys in

the bath. From this movie, the producer made about four to five million yen, or approximately

$4,000-5,000 (Varley). Because this form of pornography does not show the childrens’ naked

genitalia, it is not considered to be child pornography according to Japanese law.

37
 Various loopholes in the laws that target the production and distribution of child

pornography in Japan lead to a relatively small amount of successful prosecutions. For this

reason, it has fallen on many non-profit and non-governmental organizations to attempt to lessen

the amount of child pornography being produced after the 2014 legislation. One Tokyo-based

campaign group, Humans Rights Now, claims that DVDs clearly marked as child pornography

continue to be “openly and widely distributed, displayed, and sold at stores, and released on the

internet” (Ross). The sexualization of minors, as well as the consumption of pornography, has a

fairly lax response from both citizens and law enoforcment in Japan, representing a culture in

which tchild sexual abuse has become normalized.

Japanese Society

1. Population Decline

The population of Japan has been declining to a critical condition. According to censuses

conducted by the Japanese government starting from more than a century ago, the population is

shrinking at an alarmingly fast rate. In one of the government’s more recent studies, it has shown

that there were fewer than 1 million births in 2016, and the population has decreased by over

300,000 people (Semuels). This population decline has been attributed to a number of sources,

from economic insecurity to changing roles and attitudes of Japanese women to the

government’s apprehensiveness to bring in more immigrants. The Japanese government has put

in place many initiatives to attempt to minimize this crisis, from enhancing childcare services to

tax incentives, but none has yet been successful as the decline has yet to be reversed. As we have

seen, another significant factor is men’s modern day reluctance to enter into real romantic and

sexual relationships.

38
 One of the most relevant factors in Japan’s population decline that scholars have focused

on is overall financial decline. The opportunities have become more limited for Japanese men in

today’s economy. Although the rate of unemployment is currently under 3 percent, there has

been a rise in precarious employment across the world, and within Japan as well (Semuels).

According to Jeff Kingston, a professor at Temple University in Japan, around 40 percent of the

Japanese workforce are employed by companies that provide temporary jobs with low salaries

and few benefits. Between 1995 and 2008, the number of regular workers decreased by 3.8

million, while irregular workers increased by 7.6 million (in a working population of about 70

million people). Men are continuously expected to be breadwinners in Japan’s patriarchal

structure, and this financial instability plays a key role in the current lack of new households.

According to Ryosuke Nishida, a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, about 30 percent of

young people between the ages of 20 and 30 who have irregular jobs are married, as opposed to

the 56 percent with regular jobs. Simply, many young people in Japan do not know if they can

afford to support a family financially.

The role of women in the workforce and in society has also had an impact on the

population decline. Because of the obstacles working mothers face in Japan, the birth rate is

declining as more women enter the workforce each year. Despite their increased influence in

Japan’s workforce, the working mothers of this country are still held to dated gender roles. They

work the same hours as their male colleagues, but are still expected to do the majority of

housework and child-rearing. According to a time use study conducted by the OECD, “men in

Japan do fewer hours of household chores and child care than in any of the world’s wealthiest

nations,” including the United States and several European countries (Rich). According to the

39
BBC, roughly 70 percent of women quit their jobs after they have had their first child. Japan is

considered to be one of the most difficult countries to succeed in for working mothers.

Population decline in and of itself is not a problem that is strictly limited to Japan by any

means; one finds it in Russia, Germany, and even the United States. However, the problems

causing the declining population in these countries somewhat differ from the ones facing Japan.

For example, some of the leading causes of this decline in the United States include urban decay

and rural flight in smaller towns. In Russia, although the numbers of declining population are

seemingly high, the decreasing death rate and increasing birth rate, as well as continued

immigration into the country have been helping to solve this problem. Despite the incentives put

in place to find an effective solution, Japan continues to struggle.

While many point fingers to the increase of working women in Japan as a primary reason

for the country’s rapid population decline, it must be noted that this argument is backed by sexist

rhetoric. It is imperative to clarify that, while there may be correlation between an increase of

working women and a decrease in childbirth, this is not to suggest that women should stop

working and prioritize starting families. Rather, there are other factors within Japanese culture

that can be tied to this issue as well- namely the country’s relationship with their popular culture.

Businesses like the idol industry and the JK industry, among others, provide the “girlfriend

experience” for many, which substitutes the desire to enter into real relationships and have

children.

According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan’s

population could potentially drop below 100 million by 2049. The decline is alarmingly rapid,

with birth rates decreasing and the age of the population increasing every year. This same study

40
claimed that of 5,276 Japanese people between the ages of 18 and 34, 69.8 percent of men and

59.1 percent of women were not in a relationship. Many scholars such as Anita Rani, Alana

Semuels, and Joel Stewart draw a parallel between this statistic and the statistics of popularity of

anime, manga, idol culture, and other “girlfriend experience” products. These popular culture

forms supplement the need for a real life relationship, and are seen as easier in many ways than a

real relationship. For this reason, many have become satisfied with a virtual relationship and

have chosen not to pursue their peers.

Japanese Economy and Polity

1. Exporting Japan’s Soft Power

Japan has used “soft power” as a form of economic progress and diplomacy, exporting

popular culture not only to benefit the country economically, but also to improve political

relationships with other countries and raise Japan’s standing in the international opinion. On the

official website for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one reads that “the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, aiming to further the understanding and trust of Japan, is using pop-culture as its primary

tool for cultural diplomacy.” This form of diplomacy can be traced back to the beginnings of the

American occupation of Japan from the mid 1940s until 1952 following Japan’s loss during the

Second World War. America restructured not only the country’s constitution and political policy,

but its economic practices as well.

General Dougas MacArthur, named the Supreme Commander of the Occupation forces,

felt that only a democratic Japan would truly promote peace, assuming that democratic countries

were inherently more peaceful than nondemocratic countries such as Germany and Japan during

World War II. The shift to democracy involved immense political and economic restructuring,

which changed nearly all aspects of Japanese life in just seven short years. Most notable were the

41
political shifts, including a completely new constitution that Japan was made to adopt. Naturally,

America played the most major role in the drafting of this document, which differed greatly from

the former Meiji Constitution of 1889. The document includes several important political shifts,

the biggest perhaps being that the sovereignty rested with the people rather than the emperor. The

war crimes Japan became infamous for led to the creation of Article 9 in the newly revised

constitution, which prohibited Japan from holding a standing army or engaging in warfare of any

kind. This legislation naturally took away Japan’s power to enforce diplomatic relations with

other countries through any form of active military power- the most direct influence on Japan’s

later use of soft power.

In support of these political changes, MacArthur enacted various democratic economic

policies. This included the allowance of free trade unions and the reformation of the country’s

land redistribution policies. This new way of life was taught and advertised in newspapers and

magazines to popularize democratic ideals, and America was seen as the model to be copied

(“The American Occupation of Japan”). These new democratic ideals allowed for the

proliferation of Japanese popular culture, including animation, video games, technology, and

soap operas, which quickly spread and found popularity abroad. After the 1950s and 1960s, a

wave of “Japanism” emerged in the West. The spread of Japanese popular culture was often

attributed to the “global proliferation of mass consumption economy combined with a growing

middle class,” which gave an edge to the global spread of Japanese popular culture (Watanabe

and McConnell, 199). The country wanted to create a softer image for itself while

simultaneously benefiting from the spread of its popular culture both in Japan and outside of it.

A focus on kawaii culture that prioritized cuteness and child-like naivety was one way to do so,

42
and it spread quickly and fervently. Interwoven with sexuality and sexual idealization, kawaii

imagery in popular culture became one of the country’s greatest economic and political strengths.

Author Patrick W. Galbraith states that “Japan has a history of positioning the young girl

at the center of consumer culture” (“Lolicon”, 86). The 1970s were difficult years for Japan in

the aftermath of its occupation by the United States, as the new constitution put in place by

General Douglas MacArthur included so many changes in such a short time. This leadership by

Japan’s former enemy included various forms of military occupation, economic restructuring and

recovery, and social upheaval, and by the 1970s Japan was left to consolidate American

influence as consumerism rose rapidly. The country focused extensively on advertising,

packaging, and design. It was during this time that the young girl, or shojo, became one of the

prevalent images in the media. The shojo figure represented the pleasures of capitalist

consumerism, and appeared in magazines, radio, and television to promote products. Japanese

culture professor John Whittier Treat comments that she appeared to “excite the consumer and

herself be thrilled by the flurry of goods and services that circulate like toys around her”

(“Lolicon”, 86). From this point on, the sexualization of young girls and the promotion of

consumerism became intrinsically tied in Japan.

Galbraith also points out that the shojo figure represented cuteness and innocence, and

therefore the progressively younger age of the girls in these advertisements was a somewhat

expected development. Author Serizawa Shunsuke states that yojo- young girls who are often

younger than shojo girls- began to signify an idealized Eros in Japanese culture, and therefore

became more prominent in advertising. He states that this figure's integration into consumer

culture can be seen as an inevitable consequence of the drive of capitalism to market Eros as a

new commodity. As this culture developed, many men on the fringes of Japanese capitalist

43
society turned to hobbies like anime and manga rather than relationships, and therefore turned to

fictional girls rather than real ones. These otaku (men obsessed with popular culture to the

detriment of their social skills) began to find other resources to simulate relationships- usually

via anime and manga girls. These relationships were seen as “pure love,” or a love that was not

determined by socioeconomic concerns. These men could love fictional women as they wished,

without worrying about marriage or supporting a family financially.

In the 1980s, an official branding strategy proposed by the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, titled the “Cool Japan” movement, began to spread in an attempt to increase the allure of

Japan around the world. Even more intense attempts to spread the country’s popular culture

began, specifically focusing on anime and manga, video games, fashion, technology, and- as

always- kawaii culture in general. This political and economic move by the Japanese government

was a deliberate attempt to redefine the country; no longer was it brutal and militaristic, but

rather it was sweet, innocent, and associated with the color pink. By the 1990s and 2000s, Japan

was labeled as a “soft power superpower” due to the country’s ability to promote cultural

diplomacy and spread the positive reception of Japanese cultural products (Watanabe and

McConnell). Due to new forms of technology and social media, Japanese popular culture and

media-related exports became a central export in the country’s economy and one of the fastest

growing markets during this time and onwards.

A study showed that in 2018 Japan had the third largest sales of media culture in the

world behind the United States and China (Otmazgin, 41-42). Exporting popular culture not only

benefited the economy immensely, but also provided a method for Japan to spread its culture and

override previous historical or political animosities with other countries. It allowed countries to

forget prior disputes and accept Japanese culture and politics. In the text Regionalizing Culture:

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The Political Economy of Japanese Popular Culture in Asia, author Nissim Otmazgin discusses

the ways that popular culture exports immensely affected Japan, claiming that popular culture

commodities “have greater potential to shape people’s identities and images” (42).

Fan culture in Japan, sometimes referred to as “fandom” culture or otaku culture, played

a central role in the popularity of this pop culture both domestically and internationally.

Primarily centered around anime, manga, video games, music (especially idols), and even the

pornography industry and its stars, fandom culture spread throughout Japan and funneled

immense funds into this sector. As this popular culture spread outward, so did the spirit of

fandom culture- thus, continually sending profits into Japan from this export. According to the

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of the world’s animation, 60% is produced in Japan. The

total value of video game exports is estimated at about 252.8 billion yen each year. In addition,

according to economist Takashi Kadokura in his book Sexonomics: Profits in the Global Sex

Economy, the porn industry is estimated to earn the country over $20 billion annually (including

profits both domestically and internationally). Even more surprising, Kadokura states that the

teenage prostitution market in Japan, also known as the JK business, can be estimated to be as

high as 54,700,000,000 yen per year, or around $700 million.

Today it is unavoidable to consume Japanese popular culture without being inundated

with pedophilic themes and imagery- particularly in anime and manga, the idol industry, and the

pornography industry. The exporting of this culture, when little attempt is made to lessen the

sexualization of minors permeating within it, shows that Japan benefits economically and

politically from its proliferation. This is one of Japan’s primary exports, and individuals spend

great amounts of money on this both within Japan and outside of it where the culture has gained

tremendous popularity. Using soft power as an export has also changed the image of Japan

45
worldwide, shifting it from a militant power to one associated with kawaii culture’s innocent

eroticisim. Rather than rejecting the media that may have imagery that goes against their own

moral standards, those involved in fandom culture internationally consume these media forms

hungrily, slowly becoming desensitized to the pedophilic themes included throughout it.

Oppositions to My Perspective

Throughout this thesis, I have attempted to show the ways pedophilia has developed in

the different facets of Japanese society. While it is difficult, it is important to define pedophilia

within the context of the topics discussed. We generally define pedophilia as a psychiatric

disorder characterized by a reoccuring sexual attraction to children- usually under the age of 13.

However, in more colloquial terms, we think of pedophilia as any sexual attraction or behavior

conducted towards someone under the legal age of consent. In order to properly contextualize the

way pedophilia is defined in this paper, we must also look at the ways it is defined in the

Japanese legal context. The age of consent in Japan is 13 years old, which is the youngest out of

the G8 countries, a standard used to measure the world’s most industrialized countries. However,

while this is legally true, this law is usually not the standard by which pedophiles are persecuted.

Similar to federal legislation in the United States, Japan consists of 47 prefectures that each have

their own local statutes. While 13 years old is the minimum age of consent country-wide, each

prefecture has its own legislation regarding obscenity, also known as “corruption of minors''

laws. Depending on the prefecture, these laws raise the age of consent to 16-18. For this reason,

the de-facto age of consent in Tokyo, for example, is 18.

Another important factor to consider is whether or not the sexualization of fictional

characters can truly be considered pedophilia. There are opposing opinions on this topic, with

some seeing these media forms as pedophilic while others claim it is nothing more than fiction.

46
Lolicon pornography, for example, is still legal in Japan despite laws regarding pornography in

general. This legality gives those who do not see this media as pedophilia a way to justify the

acceptance of this phenomenon. Many defenders of lolicon pornography, for one, claim that

sexualizing drawings cannot be constituted as a real crime and therefore should not be illegal.

In his text Australia's "Child Abuse Material' Legislation, Internet Regulation and the

Juridification of the Imagination, Mark J. McLelland stated that “Japanese scholarship has, on

the whole, argued that, in the case of Japanese fans, neither the loli nor the BL fandom represent

the interests of paedophiles since moe characters are not objectified in the same manner that

actual images of children can be, rather they express aspects of their creators' or consumers' own

identities"(16). The common consensus in Japan is that lolicon art is not morally wrong. Another

outspoken critic of the argument that lolicon pornography equates to child pornography is the

well-known translator of Japanese manga, Dan Kanemitsu. When responding to a potential ban

of this form of pornography by the Japanese government in 2014, Kanemitsu stated that he

disagreed that this form of pornography normalized the sexual abuse of children, but rather was a

“venting mechanism” for those with pedophilic fantasies (Varley).

Patrick W. Galbraith, one of the leading researchers on both idol culture and lolicon in

Japan, also does not believe that possession of lolicon should be penalized. In Lolicon: The

Reality of “Virtual Child Pornography” in Japan, Galbraith ends his argument by stating that

both posession and creation of lolicon is within the realm of free speech, which must be upheld-

even if some are offended by it. He states that it should remain legal until it actively hurts

someone. He claims that “sexual violence against women and children is an unfortunate social

reality, and censoring fiction depictions does not reduce it. It does, however, make it taboo to

even imagine sexual violence and denies a space to represent and respond to it” (110). Similar to

47
Kanemitsu’s argument, Galbraith believes that this “art form” can be a way for pedophiles to

express their sexual inclinations in an environment that does not directly hurt children.

It is this very point that I disagree with. While I can agree that there is no literal crime

being committed when one creates virtual child pornography, my claim in this thesis is that the

normalization and proliferation of this culture creates a society in which viewing children

sexually is not abhorrent. This leads to a culture where the sexualization of minors is more

acceptable, as proven by the rampant numbers of young sex trafficking victims and child

pornography circulated in Japan. The question then becomes whether or not I can state my

opinion on Japan’s policies as someone accustomed to the Western perspective. What right do I

have to pass judgement on Japanese culture? My answer to this relates to Japan’s diplomatic

policy of soft power. Exporting popular culture is one of Japan’s major priorities. It has proven to

be very successful, as the United States is only one of the hundreds of countries in which

Japanese popular culture is immensely popular and beloved. However, with the spread of this

culture comes the risk of the spreading a normalization of pedophilia. Although America’s views

on pedophilia are much more strict, there has already been a noticable shift in American culture

leaning towards the acceptance of this phenomenon. For one, despite its illegality, Japanese

pornographic manga including loli and shota images is easily accessible and purchasable both in

brick-and-mortar manga stores and online for American audiences. These works are translated

into English for easier accessibility, and are not looked at as child pornography in the American

anime community (as far as anecdotal evidence can tell).

While it may not be my position to comment on a culture I am not a part of, I feel that it

is important to speak out against it when I see it proliferating in my country and community.

Those who disagree that these various forms of popular culture are pedophilic in nature may

48
state that there is no correlation between the creation of this “art” and the number of children

being sexually abused. However, these forms of media play a role in the casual normalization of

pedophilia, which contributes to a society that passively accepts child endangerment. It is my

fear that the more this culture becomes accepted in the United States alongside the popularization

of anime, manga, and other forms of Japanese popular culture, we may see an increase in the

numbers of child sexual abuse victims. I fear that, like in Japan, fans of these works may begin to

dissent against the laws already put in place in the United States and claim that the illegality of

this form of pornography goes against their right to free speech. For this reason, it is important to

draw the parallels between “virtual” child pornography (in its various forms) and “real” child

pornography so that those who may find themselves interested will not become complacent to

the crimes that are related.

Conclusion

As I have discussed in my thesis, the sexualization of minors is prevalent in various

forms of Japanese media. Whether it be in animation, gaming, music, fashion, or pornography,

the kawaii culture that the country has grown famous for is often synonimous with eroticism.

This culture is consumed and exported as one of Japan’s most lucrative products; the anime

industry alone was worth 2.5 trillion yen ($24 billion) in 2019 (“Anime Industry Report 2019”).

Despite the Japanese government being aware of the normalization of pedophilia, it does little to

prevent it as it benefits the Japanese economy. While some may argue that this culture is not a

point of concern since it does not involve real children, research has also proven this to be

untrue. Rates of real child abuse, including child pornography and sex trafficking, in Japan are

some of the highest in the developed world. Now that Japanese popular culture is one of the

49
country’s largest exports and is spreading rapidly across the world, the concern falls on whether

or not this culture will spread as well.

From personal experience, I have already seen the ways that the sexualization of children

in Japanese popular culture has spread to the United States. In attending a popular anime

convention, Anime NYC, I saw no shortage of lolicon art, cosplay, and fanaticism. At this event,

artists can display their artwork for sale. I counted more than 5 vendors that were selling their

own lolicon art. I have included this photo reference, which was taken with the informed consent

of the artist. His face has been blurred for privacy.

Figure 4. Sluzhevsky, Megan. Booth Selling Lolicon

Art at Anime NYC. 20 Nov, 2021. Author’s Personal Collection.

50
In addition, popular websites used to rank anime, including MyAnimeList, IMDB, and

LetterBoxd, show the popularity of anime that sexualizes minors. These websites are organized

by user ratings, and can be rated both by enjoyment and by popularity. On MyAnimeList,

arguably the most popular website for this purpose, shows such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, No

Game No Life, Seven Deadly Sins, and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which feature sexualized

young or young-looking female characters, are some of the most popular in the United States

today. While this can all be considered anecdotal evidence, to my knowledge there have yet to be

any studies conducted on the spread of pedophilic Japanese popular culture in the United States

or elsewhere.

When discussing the ethics of consuming media, it is vital that we prevent ourselves from

becoming complacent. I feel that many fans of these genres write off the harm it may cause as

they do not feature “real” children in sexualized situations. However, one must question the

morality of someone who enjoys media that even features drawings of sexualized children.

Accepting even “virtual” images of child pornography shows a morality that states sexualizing

children is acceptable. This issue becomes more urgent as the lines between what is “real” and

what simply exists online become blurred.

Even more so, we must look critically at those who consume or promote content that

actively harms real children, such as in the idol or JK industry. While the rights to free speech

and expression, as written in both the American and Japanese constitutions, remain a top priority

in Japan, children continue to be hurt as a result. Throughout history and into modernity, there is

not much of a voice given to victims of this pedophilic culture. There are actually no accounts of

the perspective of wakashu, and even today it is rare to hear the voices of young people who

suffer from these phenomena, such as ex-idols or former JK business victims. It is important to

51
consider the ways this may be affecting children physically and mentally, especially in a country

where mental health is not prioritized while suicide rates are rising. In 2020 alone, the rates of

suicide among Japanese women grew nearly 15% (Wingfield-Hayes). Research must be

conducted to realize the true impact this culture may have on young women, and young children

in general.

In the beginning of this thesis, I contemplated why this culture is being ignored in Japan.

Through my research I learned that it was not solely because the Japanese government benefited

from this culture. It was also due to a disconnect people made between what was “real” and what

was “virtual.” Perhaps it is easy to ignore the harm being done to children when looking at

pedophilic drawings rather than a real child’s face. However, the complacency of this culture

leads to real damage to real children, like in the idol culture, the JK business, and in chaku ero

child pornography. It is only through active discussion of these topics that we can spread

awareness of this content and fight against the normalization of it. While there are many who

disagree that these works hurt children, it is only by continued diligence that that can be proven

otherwise and propel the Japanese government to take further action to protect its country’s

children.

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