[MMM]

Originally Posted by GoNative

Here is a reasonably interesting article from the Japan Times looking at the same issue we are discussing.

Child porn hard to define, stop | The Japan Times Online

It is interesting, but also a little misleading. Yes porn shops in Japan are full of videos and pictures of naked girls under the age of 20.

That's because the legal age of posing naked is 18 in Japan. The same is true in America. Now take that sentence and change "20" to "18" and I don't think it is true anymore.

Originally Posted by GoNative

The biggest issue is that because it's not illegal to possess child pornography here Japan has become a place to hold and store such materials. To think that those in possession of it are not going to distribute it for profit is naive at best.

It seems like the biggest issue is "virtual child pornography" which is manga and anime depicting children in sexual situations. Japan certainly produces a lot of this, but keep in mind no children are actually involved.