Japanese Communist Party To File United Nations Grievance Over ‘Sexy’ Female Manga Characters
Dragon Quest the video game franchise, was also under their radar as a party member took extreme issue with the ‘strong ‘male perspective’
On Mar 18, 2024, a user of the Japanese open blog website “Togetter” unveiled the next plan of action for the Japanese Communist Party, which is to unearth and ban adult magazines that sexualize women under their noses.
This include even some manga like Berserk and One Piece.
According to this user, these folks conducted a survey about magazines in which the prominent question was “Were there any magazines in the store that you were interested in, such as adult-oriented magazines?”
The survey included manga magazines for both younger (shonen) and older (seinen) male demographics, including Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shōnen Champion, Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump, and Hakusensha’s Young Animal (which publishes Berserk).
The Japanese Communist Party reported that in a preliminary survey spanning three days and encompassing 517 stores conducted in late December, they discovered a resurgence of adult magazines in convenience stores. Despite previous efforts to eradicate them through campaigns and surveys, these magazines have reappeared in various locations.
“Recognizing the gravity of this issue, we are gearing up for a comprehensive nationwide survey,” they elaborated. “Our objective is to scrutinize the presence of adult magazines that objectify women in convenience stores frequented by individuals of all genders and ages. Subsequently, we intend to present our findings to the convenience store headquarters and submit a formal request. Additionally, we plan to compile a report for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).”
Furthermore, they expressed concerns about the exaggerated sexualization of characters, citing examples such as female martial artists character model in shows and games emphasizing her breasts and hips, and the utilization of bunny-girl outfits as armor for female characters.
This effort to demonize manga and anime seems to run counter to some of the JCP’s 2021 pronouncements, when they claimed to be committed to “free expression” yet expressed qualms about the representation of women in media. Plus, it’s shocking that in 2010, all eight JCP assembly members opposed a measure to limit free speech; nevertheless, a lot can happen in a fourteen-year period.
A number of Japanese internet users have commented on the hypocrisy of a politically suppressive party seeking to limit free speech after learning about the “secret” survey.
The Japanese Communist Party Is telling its voters to Report Seinen Manga and Adult Magazines to the United Nations pic.twitter.com/3SdYYt4i7m
— Lo-Ping, but gayer (@PandasAndVidya) March 28, 2024
However, this wasn’t the first time the Communist Party aimed to take action against media which portrayed attractive female characters.
Dragon Quest the video game franchise, was also under their radar as a party member, in Nov 2022, taking extreme issue with the ‘strong’ male perspective, particularly in regards to how it portrays its female characters.
