[MMM]

I am not sure if ecchi manga and pornography are the same thing. (Sorry, I missed the "manga" in your first statement).

Is it in poor taste to read that stuff out in public? I think it would be hard to argue it isn't, and most Japanese would agree. I think it would make a bigger statement about Japanese society if the mothers didn't try to shield their children from it.

I think what you learned is Japanese men can sometimes be a little clueless, but it doesn't mean that are amoral.