Back now from a short hiatus, installing some new gardens in the backyard. Yes, I have other hobbies.
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Heisei Democracy has a long editorial on the state of doujinshi and free speech in Japan, touching upon everything between Misshitsu to the very latest doujin artist arrest, the counter “wholesome lifestyle promotion” that fizzled quickly, and steps which can be taken to avoid future confrontation.
The irony is that there had been no significant obscenity case for several decades up until recently, because censors were finding themselves on the losing end in both the judicial court and the court of public opinion. Had they continued pushing, the Japanese obscenity statute could have been in danger of being repealled completely. But with the Misshitsu case, in which the judge flat-out ignored pro-defense testimony from legal and social experts, the moral crusaders and prosecutors found new life. So while such cases are never good for the individuals involved, the very tiny potential silver lining is that this may get the public to pay attention to the issue of free speech again, and perhaps the question of whether article 175 has any place in modern Japan may be settled once and for all.
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Semi-related… here’s an odd piece of news that I almost missed from last week: Tokyo police raided the offices of the Nihon Ethics of Video Association, which overseas enforcement of article 175 code on adult DVDs, for suspicion of not doing their jobs properly. This new wave of moral policing is apparently across the board.
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A couple Diamond items… The Comics Reporter points to news that Diamond may be moving its main Memphis warehouse to Olive Branch, Mississippi. Yes, that means a pile of our porn will be in Mississippi. Creepy.
Lying in the Gutters reports a rumor that Diamond may be getting rid of its 2% reorder penalty. All the non-exclusive publishers, let’s party!
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Sir Alexander reviews The Spirit of Capitalism and makes fun of my speech impediment. Seriously, those missing words are because the Japanese like to cut off dialogue mid-sentence!
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Finally, we sent in Comic AG issue 66 to the printers. Check out the preview pages, and prepare to shell out some money. You know you absolutely need this issue.
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Simon, when might we see the Please Miss Yuri trade?
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March ’08, and your hedging at that, well patience is a virtue after all. What kills me about the whole schizophrenic approach to h-manga censorship is that the Japanese police and judiciary are acting as though the internet never happened. I know enough about the law to be utterly confounded as to why the Japanese courts have failed to strike section 175 as unconctitutional, but so much of what happens in Japan leaves me scratching my head. I guess all I can do is watch and wait and offer my views for whatever they are worth.
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