Forum - View topicEditorial: How Bill 156 Got Passed
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michaeltanzer
Posts: 168 |
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Yeah I agree with you Youkai Warrior, but you're right, Ishihara is one hell of a crackhead.
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ittoujuu
Posts: 164 Location: SoCal |
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After reading this article, I definitely found support for what I had suspected - that this bill was simply a gambit in play for the purpose of a larger cause that has nothing to do with the actual issues the bill encompasses. After having the initial bill defeated, if the Tokyo government gave up on it right then, they might have lost face with their constituents, after they'd pushed it so hard, so they went back in to re-tool the bill, thinking if they could pull a win, their efforts over the entire year would be vindicated.
The mistake is thinking it's about anime, manga, and video games, when it isn't. It's actually about politicians and elected officials wanting to preserve their incumbency by showing to voters that they took bold steps to protect children while the other guys supported evil media that was peddling rape and incest. Never mind that those promoting the bill never had to really state what the planned effectiveness of this bill was, or acknowledge that the publishing industry was already largely self-governing in this respect. When you summon the almighty "But think of the children!" gambit, it strikes a chord with a large percentage of the average voting public every time. It's like the reverse-polarity counterpoint to the "If you compare someone/something to Hitler/Nazis in an internet argument, you lose" - the first one to call "I'm doing it for the children!" in a political play has the moral high ground, and the opposition is suddenly on the defensive. I think there are a couple points the opposition to bill 156 should've called out, though. The foremost, in my mind is the creation of "second class citizens" of media, due to anime, manga, and video games falling under the censure of this bill, while novels and live-action TV/movies escape all of the bill's regulatory effects. That's a golden example of a hypocritical double standard, and were it my argument to make, I would have called the Tokyo politicians on that and asked them how they came to that decision. Either certain content is bad enough to warrant government regulation - and if it is, it is bad enough to be so regardless of the media in which it is presented - or it's not bad enough to warrant govt. regulation, and in that case why is this bill even being pushed along? That this was never explained and (to my knowledge) no one ever tried to brooch the issue in a debate strikes me as odd, especially when it presents such a gaping hole in the logic behind the bill. The best I can hope for is this bill being a feint - basically, a trophy win Tokyo's politicians can take home, put on their fridge, and point out, "See? We did something in legislature today mom!" If they only do some token enforcement and don't press the issue much, they win, and the publishing industry remains largely unaffected. If the politicians want to play hardball with the issue, though, I would hope to see the publishing industries of those media hit Tokyo back where it hurts them - financially. For that reason, I applaud the move of manga publishers to drop Tokyo Anime Fair like a rock, pick up their ball and bat, and take their game elsewhere (apparently, creating their own counter-event in Chiba). It's natural for politicians to want to do things to make their careers safer, but when they do so at the cost of curtailing freedom of expression, writers, readers, and publishers are well within their means to say, "We think you're off your rocker, we're going to fight this tooth and nail, and if you keep these acts up, we're going to make efforts to keep fans of anime and manga from patronizing your city for events such as conventions." As far as I've read, the scope of this bill isn't as vast as a lot of alarmists seem to think it is, and I take that as a small comfort, but it's more the precedent this sets for irrational legislation being passed without having to prove its merit that I find troubling. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14773 |
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Just remember when reading any editorial: it's only one viewpoint.
(This works especially for anything politics - not unlike Dems reading only blue blogs or Reps reading only red blogs.) Now back to your regularly scheduled programme.
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mckg1
 Posts: 287 Location: From Puerto Rico living in Japan |
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As a fan of the art and style of manga and anime. I assure you that I believe this bill is restricting the freedom of expression to the creators. Now, I am willing to accept a more suitable way to property handle the age on which the manga or anime is aiming to, but to restrict manga and anime as they see fit? Now that is crossing the line. If I can help to fight against this bill in anyway, shape, or form. I will do it!
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E-Master
 Posts: 471 |
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Sorry, I misread the details from the articles. I'm just getting a headache from all this Bill 156 crap. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14773 |
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Start by registering a residence in Tokyo prefecture. 
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3490 Location: Back stateside |
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Exactly. This isn't our fight, folks. It will effect us as fans of the media, but if you're not a voting Japanese citizen, there isn't a whole lot we can do other than lend some moral support. Even were we to stage boycotts of trips to Tokyo or something, that's an absolutely meaningless drop in the bucket of tourism and business travel. I just still hold to the hope that this bill, having won political points in being passed, won't be enforced not just because the industry is against it, not just because its practical application would be unwieldy, but also because the "problems" it addresses, as said in this and so many other articles, do not really exist. I know, I know, Ishihara would like to see anyone gay banned from appearing in the media, but so long as the standard line is still "rape and child molestation in children's manga!", well, it's out there, but it sure ain't in Shounen Jump. |
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Ranmah
 Posts: 294 Location: Stomp'n on Tokyo Tower |
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I knew about this silly bill since last year. I am disappointed that the Governor of Tokyo is shooting himself in the foot. Tokyo needs money badly and it shows that this man is an old senile koot.
I am one of the members of the small press corp and I for one am not going to stand buy and see the industry cave under pressure from a few politicians. I am boycotting TAF 2011 along with my larger brothers and sisters in the industry. The only way to repeal the bill is to hit the politicians where it hurts the most, the money belt. I hope the PM will step in and say something about this idiotic bill. |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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Is money loss really gonna do him any good?
I mean look at one of his prominent feats:
Sincerely, I think this man could lose 10 billion (if he already didn't) and the Japanese would still vote for him. But it'd be a different story if he were to hit a kid in public. Why? Headlines: "Politician loses 10 billion dollars over its short career." Public: "Uh, that doesn't sound too bad." Headlines v2: "Politician punches a kid." Same public: "Outrageous, this man should die." |
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ZakuAce
 Posts: 525 Location: SE Wisconsin |
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I wasn't calling you out or anything, just sick of people putting all the blame on the government. It's so easy to place the blame on the government when there were other forces at work here. |
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Gentry
Posts: 230 |
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Couldn't you condense the article down to about 2 paragraphs please. It's a bit too long for my taste and only managed 3 lines or so before flicking to another page. Thanks.
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PrettyKitty$$$$$
 Posts: 119 |
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*falls off my chair laughing* Thanks, I needed that. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14773 |
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Heheh, that's what you'd get from a generation raised on manga with minimal text per page.
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michaeltanzer
Posts: 168 |
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O.M.G. They can't take the late night portion of portion of anime from television in Tokyo. That's not fair!!!!
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E-Master
Posts: 471 |
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That's fine, I was blurting out statements without even thinking what I just said. Alls forgiven. |
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