Police concerned about over explotation of 'junior idols'

[Ishtar]

(Mainichi Japan) January 27, 2010

"Junior idol" collections, the euphemistic term for DVDs and photo collections featuring young children, have come under the scrutiny of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, who are looking at issuing cautions for guardians who allow their children to be exploited.

The Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety has stated that they "need to consider how to regulate" these publications.

The term "junior idol" is used to describe young stage or screen stars; however, it has also come to refer to underage girls who appear in male-oriented DVD or photo collections.

In principle, these do not violate the Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prevention Law, as they do not contain any nudity. However, some feature their subjects wearing bikinis or swimwear, or striking sexually suggestive poses. The age of the "models" has also been decreasing noticeably, with some as young as kindergarten age (around 5 years old), and a report by the office has judged that "depending on the photography style and subject's age, it could constitute oppression."

The report specifically calls attention to those of kindergarten and elementary school age, pointing out that "young children may not be aware that they are being used as models, and it's conceivable that their guardians work with publishers to produce and sell such works for money."

It adds: "When these children reach adulthood, the knowledge that their photographs were used as sexually stimulating material could cause serious emotional damage."

The new regulations it proposes would give the local government powers to warn guardians not to exploit their children in this way. However, a draft version released to the public has attracted some concern, with fears that regulation could infringe upon freedom of expression, or prevent children from fulfilling their dreams of stardom.

"Child stars as a whole is not the problem. It's a matter of treating those at kindergarten and elementary school age as needing protection, and combating the current tendency toward making them sex objects," the office explains.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of parents exploiting their children by producing explicit images or DVDs is increasing, and police are taking steps to combat the trend.

source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/

[kuro808]

To be honest, I think the general public could see it that way, but I think its up to the people overlooking their career to make that decision and it should go on their head