Tokyo Court Rules Computer Graphics Can Be Considered Child Pornography

For the first time, a Japanese court has ruled computer-generated images can be considered child pornography, sentencing a creator of such images to a one-year prison term, says Tokyo Reporter.

The court rejected the defense’s claims that the works were art and simply representations.

Akashi Takahashi, 55, the creator of the images, received a one-year prison term with a three-year suspended sentence. He created the images on a personal computer in 2009 for a website child sold them for a total of ¥4,410 ($40).

Though it seems pretty clear that Takahashi’s images were purely pornographic, this ruling no doubt sets an uncomfortable precedent for artists using young characters. Where is the line between art and pornography?

Tokyo, which as the publishing capital sets the tone for the rest of the country, has become a more difficult place for artists whose work skirts that line in recent years. A ruling engineered to restrict manga that “disrupts social order” was put into place in 2011 and first used in 2014.

Source: Tokyo Reporter