Ask John: Is Hentai Responsible for Sexual Harassment in Japan?

Question:
Is hentai more popular then live action porn in Japan? If so, could this be the reason why many young girls are groped by men in the train stations, or elsewhere for that matter? I ask that because hentai usually features young girls (very young) as opposed to live action which is restricted to adults. Most current generation adults in Japan have to be used to hentai by now, and I wonder if it has a heavy influence on them and their interests.

Answer:
I’m not extensively familiar with Japan’s adult video industry, but I’m inclined to say that Japan’s live action adult entertainment video industry is much more prolific than the adult anime genre. For reference, I know of Japanese adult video stores in the Shinjuku district that devote only a quarter of their space to adult anime DVDs. Based on my limited knowledge, I don’t believe that blaming Japanese sexual assaults entirely on adult anime is appropriate. It would be irresponsibly shortsighted for me to claim that adult anime has no influence whatsoever on Japanese sexual harassment, but at the same time I don’t believe that Japan’s adult anime industry deserves an undue amount of blame. Nearly everything that appears in adult anime can also be found in live action Japanese pornography, and rather than say that Japan’s adult entertainment industry contributes to Japanese social conditions, I think Japanese social conditions propagate the adult entertainment industry.

Relative to the total amount of adult anime available, only a small fraction specifically illustrates “chikan,” groping on trains. A greater percentage of adult anime does, however, illustrate women as physical, sexual objects that exist to please men. I don’t believe that the apparent age of female characters in anime is relevant in relation to live action Japanese pornography because it’s a well recognized fact that Japanese women tend to look younger than they actually are. So while typical adult anime characters may look young, I believe that typical Japanese adult video actressess also frequently look like teenagers. Furthermore, the objectification of women is not limited to anime. Categories including simulated rape, scatology, bondage, domination, and sexual humiliation are also popular and prolific themes in Japan’s live action adult video industry. Although not erotica, Japanese underground horror films such as Muzan-E, Shoujo Jigoku 1999, and Guts of a Virgin graphically and intensely depict rape and sexual violence, often intertwining the two themes. If adult anime is to be blamed for sexism and sexual assault in Japan, live action pornography must share at least as much, if not more responsibility.

My goal is to neither endorse nor denounce Japan’s adult video industry. You, the reader, may use my response as a basis for further research and develop your own, personal opinion. I don’t want to exclude adult videos as a possible motivator for the victimization of women in Japanese society, but I think that the problem, such as it is, is affected by much more than just adult videos. Although women have had rights and power in certain spheres of Japanese society for centuries, Japanese society has never shied from the commodification of sexuality and femininity. From geisha to prostitution to compensated dating to massage parlors and bath houses to the “OL” (office lady), Japanese society has been known to treat women as objects that serve and service men. I believe that a degree of Japan’s adult video is a result of this traditional Japanese philosophy. At the same time, it may advocate this philosophy of the commodification of women. I wish to stress that I’m only referring to select aspects of Japanese culture taken out of context. By no means am I trying to suggest that Japanese culture is entirely sexist and barbaric in its respect and treatment of women. Adult anime, manga, and PC games, I’m sure, do have some influence on the Japanese male perception of women, but adult anime, manga and games are only one among countless contemporary Japanese factors that effect gender relations. A simplistic statement like, “Hentai causes rape or sexual abuse in Japan,” is so imprecise and unqualified and I would call it irresponsibly alarmist. I will concede that Japanese erotic anime, manga, and games may deserve some criticism and may encourage unethical behavior in people susceptible to influence, but I believe that there are more significant contributing factors to the state of sexual status in Japan. And I believe that the majority of Japanese consumers who partake of erotica are rational, disciplined adults who are adequately capable of distinguishing fantasy from reality, who do carry on normal, healthy social relationships.