Danica Davidson
August 27, 2024
A percentage of Japan’s manga output includes sexually explicit material, and sometimes foreign credit card companies balk at the idea of certain titles.
For example, website Manga Library Z was told by multiple credit card brands from the West that it needed to cease publishing some — though not all — of its explicit manga. A manga retailer that was not named also faced the anger of an American credit card brand for selling titles that were “infringing the rules” of the credit card company.
The credit card company’s agency did not specify what material it found offensive in this case. Nevertheless, it threatened penalties, and the executive of the manga retailer responded by saying, “We’ll have to reduce our platform’s dependence on adult content. If we want to expand our market, we’d better stick with the global standards.”
Ken Akamatsu, who is both a mangaka and a politician, doesn’t like where this is heading, saying it might not stop with sexual material. “The next request from card brands could be to ban novels or violent scenes altogether,” he argued. “Some say Japan should comply with the global standards. … But if Japanese content becomes too globalized and loses its unique charm, it will also lose its appeal and demand from overseas.”
Law Professor Yoko Shida at Musashino Art University noted that since credit card companies are private businesses, they’re allowed to reject certain content. But she also warned that “writers, performers and artists will find it increasingly difficult to put out their creative expression in society” if stuff like this continues.
Shida went on, “If a certain genre of expression were to be taken down because of potentially harming card brands’ reputation, that could lead to considerable intimidation in the realm of free expression . . . Decisions by credit cards have a significant impact on society.”
“The fact is that more websites, including a major movie platform and an illustration platform, have become unable to use global credit card brands,” remarked Akamatsu.
Source: Nikkei Asia
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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