Pedophilia is not taboo enough in Japan

Pedophilia is not taboo enough in Japan

In Japan, every single week brings news of a teacher making inappropriate advances towards female students. Just recently, there was an incident where a teacher was caught kissing a middle school student and making sexual innuendos in front of witnesses. 

Koichiro Ito is a prominent Japanese producer renowned for his work on some of the most successful anime hits admired by fans worldwide. Wakayama Prefectural Police recently arrested him, and he faces serious allegations of soliciting explicit selfies from a 15-year-old girl.

One of Ito’s well-known works is “Your Name.” I watched the movie in a theater and saw a scene where the wind blew up the skirt of the protagonist, an underage girl, revealing her underwear. I was probably the only one who found it disturbing, and I will delve into why Japanese culture tends to have fewer taboos in this regard.

Such incidents highlight the urgent need for accountability and ethical conduct among those in positions of power, either in education or entertainment. But something even more serious is looming ahead.

It has now been discovered that AI training data has been used to produce images closely resembling real children and sold online in Japan. These datasets, including pictures of former Japanese child celebrities, are used to create sexual images and sold online.

AI image generators can create highly realistic images by learning from extensive image data. While generating images of specific individuals normally requires only their names, some generators can produce precise correspondence if trained in “fine-tuning” data sets containing many pictures of the person.

The rapid production of such images raises concerns about their widespread circulation.

Japanese law applies to child pornography only if a real child victim exists, and computer-generated images might be regulated if they closely resemble a specific child.

However, experts argue current laws are insufficient to address AI-generated content, necessitating new regulations.

Japan, renowned for its safe social environment, has been dealing with a pedophilia phenomenon since at least before the first Christian missionaries came to this land and found monks in various Buddhist temples using young students for their sexual gratification.

During Japan’s Warring States period (Sengoku period), which lasted from the mid-15th to the early 17th century, the country experienced significant political instability, social upheaval, and frequent military conflicts.

This era also coincided with the arrival of Western traders, particularly the Portuguese, who began to establish trade relationships with Japan in the mid-16th century. One of the darker aspects of this period of trade was the human trafficking of Japanese people, including children.

Historical records indicate that Japanese children, among others, were sold to Portuguese traders by their Japanese masters. These children were often taken to Macau, a Portuguese colony, and other parts of Asia, including Goa, the 16th-century Portuguese base in India.

Japan’s complex relationship with childlike imagery is deeply embedded in its culture. The country has a long history of using youthful and often sexualized depictions in manga, anime, and video games.

Characters with exaggerated childlike features — big eyes, small bodies, and innocent expressions — are ubiquitous. This aesthetic, known as “kawaii” (cute), is celebrated in mainstream media and consumer products.

While kawaii culture is not inherently problematic, its intersection with sexual content has blurred boundaries. The legal consumption of lolicon (a portmanteau of “Lolita complex”), which depicts young-looking characters in sexual situations, has normalized the sexualization of childlike figures to some extent.

Although actual child pornography is illegal, the availability and acceptance of simulated child-like sexual content contribute to a permissive environment for such materials.

Japan’s legal framework has struggled to keep pace with technological advancements. Laws against child pornography are stringent, but they do not adequately address the nuances of AI-generated content.

AI technology can create hyper-realistic images that do not depict actual children but are virtually indistinguishable from real photographs. These images exploit legal gray areas, as they do not involve real children and thus fall outside the scope of existing child protection laws.

Japan’s position as a leader in AI and digital innovation ironically contributes to the problem. Advanced AI tools that generate realistic images are readily available, and tech-savvy individuals can easily access and use these technologies. The internet’s anonymity further emboldens such behaviors, reducing the fear of social stigma or legal repercussions.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.