Japanese Consulate San Francisco Vice Consul Charged with Assualt and 14 Counts of Domestic Violence

Well, that’s the gist of what was reported in “The penis mightier than the mosaic” on the Ryuganji blog. It seems that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had to refer to penal codes over the lack of the blob monster, smudge, fuzzy wuzzy and a few other names for the mosaic used to blur genitals shown on TV, film, DVD and the like. Will this will lead to less squinting (I have heard that works) when the mosaic appears:

The Japanese cinema-going public may be exposed to as much ultra-violence as filmmakers can throw at them on a regular basis, but they must be protected at all cost from glimpses of genitals, even in a non-sexual context. This bizarre situation has continued for decades and is frustratingly (or rather resignedly) accepted as the status quo by distributors and audiences alike, with the exception of the odd minor online uproar over particularly egregious examples such as the squiggly scribbles that concealed a crucial shot in the Japanese release of “Let the Right One In”, or the overzealous digital mosaics that robbed “Jackass 3D” of much of its humor.

However, a recent police decision has opened the possibility that a certain Hollywood film could become an unlikely touchstone for censorship reform. Asai Takashi of distributor Uplink gave an overview of the issue on his blog.
Currently, an uncensored version of Warner Brothers’ “The Hangover Part II” is being screened with an R-18 rating exclusively at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills. Other cinemas are playing an R-15 version.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) National Police Agency (NPA) carried out an investigation over whether this screening in Roppongi falls under Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code regarding the display of obscene material.

Here is a quick blurb on Obscenity and Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code: A Short Introduction to Japanese Censorship:

Since the end of the Second World War Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code, known as the obscenity law, has represented the only official restriction on freedom of expression, which is nevertheless guaranteed by Article 21 of the 1947 Constitution. Paragraph 2 of this article reads how “no censorship shall be maintained” (1). The term obscenity (in Japanese waisetsu) first appeared in the Article 259 of the 1880 Penal Code. However, it is Article 175 which remains as the main legal base to regulate obscenity. If there is a law in Japan that regulates what it can be read in newspapers and other kind of publications and be seen in paintings, manga and films that is, without any doubt, Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code. This, changed several times since its implementation in 1907, stipulates that “any person who distributes, sells or publicly displays an obscene writing, picture or other materials shall be punished with penal servitude for not more than two years or be fined not more than two million and a half yen or minor fine. The same shall apply to any person who possesses the same with the intention of selling it.” (2).

Nevertheless, there is not a clause in this article, which defines the term “obscenity” and “neither government administrators nor the courts were legally compelled to specify what constituted “obscene material” (3). It is little wonder that multiple interpretations have been given to this article with regards to its application. If we consider visual material such as manga or cinema, the law has interpreted the term obscenity in this article as the exposure of pubic hair, the adult genitals and the sexual act. Thus, if this should happen the exposed parts in any kind of visual material should be hidden with what in Japan is called bokashi (blurring or fogging) or with a digital mosaic. This extremely vague definition of obscenity has created numerous inconsistencies in court decisions, which are central to the current debate on freedom of speech in Japan. (4) SOURCE