This book explores censorship, particularly film and video censorship, in Japan in modern times. It shows how most censorship has been the film and video industry exercising self-censorship, but how this system has been problematic in that it has allowed dominant players in the industry to impose their own standards.
This book explores censorship, particularly film and video censorship, in Japan in modern times. It shows how most censorship has been the film and video industry exercising self-censorship and how this system has been problematic in that it has allowed dominant players in the industry to impose their own standards and exclude independent filmmakers. It outlines notable obscenity cases and discusses how industry self-censorship bodies have been undermined both by industry outsiders setting up their own alternative regimes and by the industry self-censorship bodies themselves being prosecuted for obscenity. The book also examines the conflict between the obscenity law, introduced in Meiji times when Japan was importing Western models, and the freedom of speech law, which was put in place by the US occupation administration after World War II. The book concludes by assessing the current state of censorship in Japan and likely future developments.
List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Glossary 1 Introduction
Major Analytical Themes Conceptual Schemes Organization of the Book
Methodological Difficulties Organization of
Chapters 2 A Brief History of
Censorship in Japan Introduction Early censorship in Imperial Japan Meiji
Period Taish and Shwa Periods Post-war Japan From State Censorship to
Self-regulatory or industrial Inspection Conclusion 3 What Is Japanese Adult
Video? Introduction A Brief History of Japanese Adult Videos Tantai and
Kikaku AVs Kikaku AVs The Saviour Ideology Conclusion 4 Society of Japanese
Adult Video Industry: AV studios, regulators and distributors Introduction
The Organization of AV Makers Wholesalers and Rental Shops Biderin as a the
Most Dominant Self-regulatory Body in the AV industry Conclusion 5 How
Biderin Regime Was Founded? Biderin was the self-regulatory body in the AV
industry in the 1980s and 1990s Introduction Biderin was a Self-regulatory
Body The Organization of Biderin The Relationship between Biderin and the
State (Police) Control of Wholesalers and Rental Shops Biderin and AV Makers
Inspection Process Conclusion 6 Medirin: the Emergence of a New Regime in the
AV Industry The Concept of Social Drama The Breaching Stage The Crisis Stage:
Medirin Getting Recognition Conclusion 7 From Biderin Via Medirin to Eizrin:
The collapse of Biderin and the Return of Order Introduction Redressive
Stage: Biderin Incident The New Censoring body: Eizrin Reintegration The
Search for a New Order Conclusion 8 Adult Video Inspection at Eizrin
Introduction Inspecting Adult Video at Eizrin Conclusion 9 Changing
Landscapes: The Emergence of a New Categorical Classification of Japanese AVs
Introduction Medirin and AVs-for-Sale The Changing Adult Video Landscapes
Conclusion 10 Conclusion Bibliography
Hoi-yan Yau is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Cultural Studies at Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
Heung-wah Wong is Associate Professor and Acting Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at The University of Hong Kong.
