UN committee criticizes Japanese media, "may incite violence against women and girls"

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has reportedly expressed concerns about Japanese media and the speculated impact it could have on gender and s*x-based violence.

According to free speech advocate and politician Yamada Taro, the Japanese Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the contents of their meeting with CEDAW. However nothing further was said about the current state of Japanese media.

The Japanese government has been thankfully slow to respond to external pressure when it comes to censorship of Japanese media. Although the same cannot be said for its corporations, but for the time being free speech remains enshrined in Japanese law with few exceptions.

You can read Taro's post regarding CEDAW's pressure to censor anime and manga below, we'll include a translation via Google.

女子差別撤廃委員会（CEDAW）が10月29日「日本の第9回報告書に対する最終見解」を公表。

これは、10月17日に行われた「女子差別撤廃条約実施状況 第9回報告」に関するの対面審査を経て作成されたもの。

今回の最終見解では、… pic.twitter.com/QJFE0Md2pW

— 山田太郎 ⋈（参議院議員・全国比例） (@yamadataro43) October 29, 2024

On October 29, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) published its "Concluding Observations on Japan's Ninth Periodic Report."

This was prepared following a face-to-face review of the "Ninth Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," which was held on October 17th.

In this final opinion, Concerns were expressed that "pornography, video games, manga and other animated products may incite violence against women and girls based on gender or sexual orientation."

It further recommended "effectively implementing existing legal measures and monitoring programs to address the production and distribution of pornography, video games and animation products that reinforce discriminatory gender stereotypes and reinforce sexual violence against women and girls.

"However, the government (the Cabinet Office Gender Equality Bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) has confirmed the content of the face-to-face screening, but no questions were asked about "manga, anime, and games." Despite not being checked during the face-to-face screening, the company expressed its concerns.

This one-sided content denies the freedom of expression in manga, anime, and games, and calls for them to be cornered through legal action and surveillance, which is extremely unjust.

We will consider requesting that the sources and grounds be disclosed, and also requesting a retraction if this is not possible.

Yamada Taro is well known for his stance against censorship, and originally ran on a platform which emphasized his desire to protect anime, manga, and other forms of media from government censorship and foreign pressure.