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Okayama Prefecture Lists 6 Ladies' Comics as "Harmful"

The government in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Okayama has added what it acknowledges is an "unusually" high number of ladies' comic magazines to its most recent monthly list of "harmful publications." According to the local laws, the prefecture's youth welfare office is required to regularly identify and list harmful publications — specifically, titles that should not be accessible to minors, due to sexual content and other reasons. Of the nine magazines on the October 7 list, six were ladies' comics, or manga aimed at usually older female readers. The office indicated that these magazines were readily available to minors in convenience stores and bookstores and not separated from comic magazines aimed at young girls.

The youth welfare office normally lists only about two ladies' comic magazines every month, so the office did acknowledge that the inclusion of six magazines this month is "unusual." However, other local governments in Japan have listed even more ladies' comic magazines as "harmful." Osaka's government identified 81 magazines as harmful publications from April 2006 to June 2007, the month in which police conducted a sweep of 26 bookstores and 44 convenience stores. The Kyoto prefectural government identified 13 manga titles as harmful publications during preparations for its June 15, 2007 meeting.

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Source: Sanyo Shimbun via Sankaku Complex