New policy follows increased complaints from female shoppers.

You can’t walk more than a few minutes in a Japanese city or moderately sized suburb without running into a convenience store, and that intense competition means that rival branches have to find ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. 7-Eleven, for example, is considered by many to have the best-tasting rice balls and sandwiches, and Lawson owns the hearts of fans of its ever-popular Karaage-kun line of fried chicken.

Mini Stop, though, has struggled to establish much of an identity for itself. Sure, it had that cool Sailor Moon plastic bottle cover campaign a few years back, and in the summer plenty of people make a point of stopping by for some of the chain’s halo-halo Filipino-style shaved ice. But most of the time, Mini Stop just doesn’t do that much to stand out from the crowd. However, the chain has now taken a bold move by announcing that it will be phasing out sales of adult magazines at all of its locations in Japan.

The new policy will go into effect in very short order. On December 1, pornography sales will cease at Mini Stop’s 43 locations in Chiba City, and once January rolls around, you won’t be able to buy porn at any of the 2,200 Mini Stops across the nation.

The company says the shift is in response to an increased number of female customers, including those who come in to buy prepared foods and side dishes for family meals with young children in tow. With a growing number of customers complaining that the presence of adult magazines made them feel uncomfortable while shopping, Mini Stop began discussing the possibility of discontinuing their sales back in May, and after several months of deliberation, and announced its decision on November 21.

Mini Stop’s Chiba stores being the first to rid themselves of porn pleased Chiba City mayor Toshihito Kumagai, whose administration has been pushing (with little success) for convenience stores to obscure the covers of adult magazines sold on their premises. Following Mini Stop’s announcement, Kumagai sent out a series of tweets applauding the company.

“1. Regarding Mini Stop’s announcement that it will cease sales of adult magazines at all locations. During times of natural disasters, convenience stores do things such as open their toilets to the general public, and are becoming increasingly important as a part of public infrastructure. We have receive requests to do something about the provocative covers of adult magazines which are displayed near the walkways that lead to the bathrooms [note: in Japanese convenience stores, the bathrooms are commonly situated beyond the end of the magazine racks, the last section of which is where adult magazines are stocked].”

“2. The Chiba City Council took this opportunity to ask convenience store chains to voluntarily obscure a portion of the magazines’ covers, but it was difficult to secure cooperation based on their worries that this would aversely affect their revenue. But in investigating that possibility, Mini Stop has expanded its efforts to create a place where anyone can feel comfortable shopping.”

“3. The Japan Magazine Publishers Association criticized the City Council’s suggestion as an imposition on free speech, but Mini Stop has made an autonomous business decision. My political ideology is that freedom of speech is extremely important. However, if provocative covers are going to be made for the purpose of trying to increase magazine sales, we must also abide by society’s reaction to them, and I hope that the industry will institute voluntary reforms on this matter.”

Regarding Kumagai’s mention of the economic impact of pornography sales, Mini Stop says that adult magazine made up just five percent of its magazine-based revenue, and so the chain may be on to something, as its possible giving up five percent of sales in one sector may be more than offset with gains elsewhere if the new policy does indeed make female and family-accompanied customers more likely to do their shopping at Mini Stop. As for pornography enthusiasts who only have a Mini Stop nearby, this may be a good time for them to start transitioning to online sources for their needs, perhaps with the aid of some of Japan’s self-help articles for seniors with an interest in Internet porn.

Sources: Asahi Shimbun Digital via Otakomu, IT Media

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