And it means that the rights of those who do not want to see women and girls treated as sexual objects are simply ignored or violated. This, in turn, has reinforced the dominant male view that women and girls are sex objects and issues connected to its consumption are thus downplayed. This has created a culture where pornography is tolerated and accepted, and its consumption normalised, especially among men, who are the main consumers of porn. People in Japan have always had easy access to pornographic materials. However, the ban did not extend to manga or anime films – which still raises troubling questions about the state of child protection, as well as the reasons for the country’s lax attitude towards children being viewed as sexual objects. In June, Japan banned the possession of child pornography after decades of criticism by local and international children’s rights activists. But it isn’t only adults whose bodies are on display: Underaged girls are routinely portrayed in suggestive ways – from teen pop groups posing in lingerie or pubescent children engaging in sexual acts in manga comic books. Go into any convenience store and you will find mainstream pornographic magazines sold alongside consumer publications while a “for adults only” sign demarcates the violent, hardcore porn magazines. The sale of pornographic materials is rampant in Japan.
