According to Anime News Network, the Tokyo Metropolitan legislature will resume debate over their additions to the child pornography law this fall. The bill was tabled last month after the lawmakers heard concerns from citizens and members of the anime and manga industries and parties could not agree on the definitions of some of the terms. They are giving more people the chance to have their voices heard in the coming weeks as they will be holding assemblies to further discuss the issue. Tokuma Shoten will also be publishing a guide to the bill whose title translates as “Non-Existent Youth Reader” that details the bill and has interviews from manga industry members including manga critic Yukari Fujimoto.
The bill was originally thought to outright ban sexualized depictions of video game, anime and manga characters who do not look to be 18 years old; however, more recent drafts seem to indicate that the bill simply bans minors from purchasing and possessing materials containing these depictions. Minors are already forbidden to purchase pornographic material containing real people, and this bill would simply extend that to virtual pornography as well as titles that contain references to rape or incest. In its current form, the bill does not create a blanket ban of all material with minors who are partially naked, either. The Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety in Tokyo specifically cited a scene from the classic children’s show Doraemon as still being acceptable even though it features Shizuka-chan bathing.
Besides the fact that the determination process becomes a bureaucratic nightmare, there is still the problem that the government is given full control over what is supposed to be “wholesome” or “harmful” to minors, which should really be an issue for families to determine for themselves.

Tokyo's Virtual Child Pornography Bill Voted Down In Committee | G.A.M.E.S. on 14 Jun 2010 at 1:48 pm #
[...] seems that the virtual child protection bill that was presented to the Tokyo Metropolitan government has been defeated in committee. According [...]
Greg Barbe on 14 Jun 2010 at 10:39 pm #
It should be up to the parents to decide what is appropriate for their child but at least they seem to be backing of to a restricted to adult purchase. It’s about as good as you can hope.
[Reply]