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Is it safe to use the internet for... uncensored adult entertainment? o_o

rezaaheddo

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17 Mar 2006
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Hey. If this topic is not suitable for this respectable forum, feel free to delete it or ban me or whatever. >_<

I'm planning to move to Japan for employment, and I'll be bringing a computer with me. However, I plan to do more than simply work and play video games on it. I will also be surfing the web, keeping up with news, reading movie reviews, etc... as well as... downloading porn. :p You know, through torrent files and all that.

However, what concerns me is the overbearing censorship I've heard about in japan. What may be perfectly legal in the US and Canada may get you in big trouble in Japan. In this case, showing a woman's "pink" area, or a man's unmosaic'd willy. :p

If I got an internet connection in my company-assigned apartment, is it relatively safe to download uncensored adult images or (uncensored)hentai through the use of the web, as long is it is not distributed to Japanese citizens? Or is this the sort of thing that will get easily sniffed out, and get you in trouble? Last thing I want is to get deported or jailed for watching my downloaded "Debbie goes Wild" or something like that on my computer. o_o
And yes, I know not to look at porn in internet cafes or work computers. :p
 
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According to a book that I have on criminal law in Japan, merely possessing such material would not get you in trouble. You would be subject to prosecution only if you decided to show it to someone else. So I guess as long as you keep it to yourself, you're home free.
 
That's cool. But before I consider my consider myself "home free," I'd like to get some others' input on this subject. :) Anybody else have any direct experience in this matter, or technical knowledge, etc?

Also, how recently was this book you speak of printed? Laws may have changed a bit since then, if it's old... o_O
 
True that you shouldn't use p2p programs. However I knew of someone who's now in Japan and who's bought one of these magazines back when he was in the UK with me (he said it was for his friend).
I dunno if this information might help but still, he did return home with the magazine...
 
dreamer said:
True that you shouldn't use p2p programs. However I knew of someone who's now in Japan and who's bought one of these magazines back when he was in the UK with me (he said it was for his friend).
I dunno if this information might help but still, he did return home with the magazine...

P2P programs like Kazaa/Old Napster, that sort of thing? Does this apply to bittorrents as well? Or is that a whole different drink of water?
 
That could be considered "showing it to others" ne?

Also, you never know how many of the "peers" are actually law enforcement or the copyright agents of various companies. <_<

Like most laws, I guess the only advice one can give about breaking them is "don't get caught"...
 
rezaaheddo said:
That's cool. But before I consider my consider myself "home free," I'd like to get some others' input on this subject. :) Anybody else have any direct experience in this matter, or technical knowledge, etc?
Also, how recently was this book you speak of printed? Laws may have changed a bit since then, if it's old... o_O
It's good to be skeptical! Here's a little more technical knowlege, in the form of the pertinent law as of 2002.

ナ炭窶邸窶佚ヲ窶愿アツ十窶愿アツ湘坂?堙ュ窶堋「窶堋ケ窶堙つ、ナ?ツュヒ?コ窶ケy窶堙堕重ツ債・窶堙個催
窶佚ヲヒ?ェナスツオツ十ナ津慊湘ーツ(窶堙ュ窶堋「窶堋ケ窶堙や?「ツィ窶敕絶?「z窶懌┐ツ)
窶堙ュ窶堋ケ窶堙や?堙遺?「ツカツ鞘?伉、ツ図窶ーテヲ窶堋サ窶堙娯?伉シ窶堙娯?「ツィ窶堙ー窶敕絶?「z窶堋オツ、窶敕娯?昶?樞?堋オツ、窶凪?昶?堙最津カ窶漏窶堙??凖や?氾ア窶堋オ窶堋スナステ停?堙債、窶愿ア窶扼ヒ?遺?ーツコ窶堙娯?卍ヲ窶禿ー窶凪?昶?堙坂?愿ア窶「Sナ津慊十窶毒凪?ー~ヒ?遺?ーツコ窶堙娯?敖ア窶ケテ?ナステ。窶堋オ窶堋ュ窶堙坂?ーテ遺?板ソ窶堙可祥??堋キ窶堙ゥツ。窶敕娯?昶?樞?堙娯?禿壺?廬窶堙??堋ア窶堙ェ窶堙ァ窶堙娯?「ツィ窶堙ーツ焦?ナスツ昶?堋オ窶堋スナステ停?堙?ツ、窶慊ッ窶罵窶堙??堋キ窶堙ゥツ。

Notice that the only way that the possession of pornographic materials becomes an issue is when the possessor intends to sell them. In no other law is this issue addressed at all.

Laws addressing sexual crimes are Articles 174 to 182 of the Criminal Code.
 
rezaaheddo said:
P2P programs like Kazaa/Old Napster, that sort of thing? Does this apply to bittorrents as well? Or is that a whole different drink of water?
Let's just put it this way: if you make it available to anyone other than yourself, it's all the same cup of water. (Technically you could show it to your wife, and maybe your girlfriend, but other than that, it's hands off to anyone!)
 
So that means that as long as I don't try to *SELL* uncensored porn, and make money off of it (PORN in the japanese legal sense meaning uncensored crotches)... I can possess it without worry? ;)

But it's still quite illegal to show a (american) friend a JPG through MSN, or post erotic artwork (of my own creation) on a US hosted website (making sure not to link from japanese sites), right? ... or wrong? ... Yes, I draw. >_<
 
Mikawa Ossan said:
Yes, that is illegal, even if it is artistic in nature.
Damn... Guess I can't wow my msn buddies with my artistic abilities anymore... :?
I'm gonna miss the "wow, awesome" and "You're amazing" comments. >_< Oh well.. Least the downloading adult material is still rather safe.

I suppose I can maybe use the "inverted color rectangle" they sometimes use to censor art... Or is that not enough?
 
rezaaheddo said:
P2P programs like Kazaa/Old Napster, that sort of thing? Does this apply to bittorrents as well? Or is that a whole different drink of water?
The bittorrent stuff is the very P2P related, isn't it?
 
By the way, just in case you don't read Japanese, the penalty under this law is prison time of 2 years or less OR a fine of 2,500,000 yen or less.

So PLEASE don't show it to anyone! Impressing your buddies is just not worth the potential consequences.
 
Mikawa Ossan said:
By the way, just in case you don't read Japanese, the penalty under this law is prison time of 2 years or less OR a fine of 2,500,000 yen or less.
So PLEASE don't show it to anyone! Impressing your buddies is just not worth the potential consequences.
That much........ and that much time...
Lame... >_<; So... is Japanese-style censored art out too? Like, if I use my own mosaic or black bar to cover up whatnot, like I've seen in so many manga? If it is, guess I'm out of luck, and can stop asking about it. :p
 
Here is where my ignorance begins. I would assume that if you blocked the objectionable parts, it would be OK. Then the question arises as to how much to block, and I really don't know the answer to that. But when in doubt, it's always prudent to be conservative. That's my policy, anyway.
 
Mikawa Ossan said:
It's good to be skeptical! Here's a little more technical knowlege, in the form of the pertinent law as of 2002.
ナ炭窶邸窶佚ヲ窶愿アツ十窶愿アツ湘坂?堙ュ窶堋「窶堋ケ窶堙つ、ナ?ツュヒ?コ窶ケy窶堙堕重ツ債・窶堙個催
窶佚ヲヒ?ェナスツオツ十ナ津慊湘ーツ(窶堙ュ窶堋「窶堋ケ窶堙や?「ツィ窶敕絶?「z窶懌┐ツ)
窶堙ュ窶堋ケ窶堙や?堙遺?「ツカツ鞘?伉、ツ図窶ーテヲ窶堋サ窶堙娯?伉シ窶堙娯?「ツィ窶堙ー窶敕絶?「z窶堋オツ、窶敕娯?昶?樞?堋オツ、窶凪?昶?堙最津カ窶漏窶堙??凖や?氾ア窶堋オ窶堋スナステ停?堙債、窶愿ア窶扼ヒ?遺?ーツコ窶堙娯?卍ヲ窶禿ー窶凪?昶?堙坂?愿ア窶「Sナ津慊十窶毒凪?ー~ヒ?遺?ーツコ窶堙娯?敖ア窶ケテ?ナステ。窶堋オ窶堋ュ窶堙坂?ーテ遺?板ソ窶堙可祥??堋キ窶堙ゥツ。窶敕娯?昶?樞?堙娯?禿壺?廬窶堙??堋ア窶堙ェ窶堙ァ窶堙娯?「ツィ窶堙ーツ焦?ナスツ昶?堋オ窶堋スナステ停?堙?ツ、窶慊ッ窶罵窶堙??堋キ窶堙ゥツ。
Notice that the only way that the possession of pornographic materials becomes an issue is when the possessor intends to sell them.
Are you sure you didn't overlook the word 窶敕絶?「z in there somewhere? And maybe ナ津カ窶漏窶堙??凖や?氾ア窶堋オ窶堋スナステ as well?
 
Mikawa Ossan said:
No I didn't. That's not the same as possession.
No, I know that isn't the same. But neither is it the case that the only way it becomes an issue is if you (intend to) sell it.
 
pipokun said:
but you should not use p2p programs.
I use p2p programs all the time, import alot of my media from hong kong. 1/5 US prices 1/10 or so Japanese prices, usually exactly the same.

I can buy a series box set from hong kong for $25USD(that includes shipping) for example of Cowboy Bebop from Hong Kong, the same set would cost $200 or so in the states, and $400 or so in Japan.
 
Mike Cash said:
No, I know that isn't the same. But neither is it the case that the only way it becomes an issue is if you (intend to) sell it.
Ah, you misunderstand me. The only way, according to the letter of the law, that the mere act of possession in and of itself becomes the object of this law is if you either distribute it or display it publicly. One can argue that you must first possess the material to do either of these actions, but that is beside the point when dealing with the letter of the law. Because, for example, you could do these actions to porn that belongs to someone else.

I understand what you're saying, but I'm taking a literal interpretation of the law here. If police broke into my house and tried to take me into custody for having uncensored porn even though I made it available to no one, this is the defense that I would employ.
 
Mikawa Ossan said:
Ah, you misunderstand me. The only way, according to the letter of the law, that the mere act of possession in and of itself becomes the object of this law is if you either distribute it or display it publicly. One can argue that you must first possess the material to do either of these actions, but that is beside the point when dealing with the letter of the law. Because, for example, you could do these actions to porn that belongs to someone else.
I understand what you're saying, but I'm taking a literal interpretation of the law here. If police broke into my house and tried to take me into custody for having uncensored porn even though I made it available to no one, this is the defense that I would employ.

The question is, would they decide to crack down on you and just lock you up for possessing porn/mp3s or using bittorrents "in principle?"

ANd honestly, I have to ask... Are P2P programs really as hazardous as all that? I've been using kazaa and bittorrent for years, and I haven't had any legal troubles yet. I'm just concerned as to whether the internet in japan is more strictly regulated.

Of course there's no EXTREME regulation like China's famous "internet police," which monitors all internet activity all the time, invading privacy and such. But is internet enforcement just about as lax as the US?
 
rezaaheddo said:
The question is, would they decide to crack down on you and just lock you up for possessing porn/mp3s or using bittorrents "in principle?"
Yeah, and as long as you didn't make it available to anyone, I think the answer to that is no.(Although I don't know what a bitorrent is, so I can't comment on that)
ANd honestly, I have to ask... Are P2P programs really as hazardous as all that? I've been using kazaa and bittorrent for years, and I haven't had any legal troubles yet. I'm just concerned as to whether the internet in japan is more strictly regulated.
Well, I would say yes. At least, in Japan Winny has been in the news a lot lately because there'S a virus that makes your computer open to downloads, even from folders that are not on your sharelist. It has caused a lot of problems, usually involving private information. But I know of news stories where private information from public schools has been made public due to this virus.

Do they monitor the p2p servers much? I don't know. I don't really think so, in all honesty. I still wouldn't be willing to take the chance. It's one thing to unwittingly break the law, another to do so knowing full well the legality of the matter.
 
rezaaheddo said:
The question is, would they decide to crack down on you and just lock you up for possessing porn/mp3s or using bittorrents "in principle?"
ANd honestly, I have to ask... Are P2P programs really as hazardous as all that? I've been using kazaa and bittorrent for years, and I haven't had any legal troubles yet. I'm just concerned as to whether the internet in japan is more strictly regulated.
Of course there's no EXTREME regulation like China's famous "internet police," which monitors all internet activity all the time, invading privacy and such. But is internet enforcement just about as lax as the US?

If you're so concerned about 'big brother' invest in a newsgroup binary archive account for around $40/quarter. Absolutely no public record of your downloading activities - except the hard disk on your computer of course!

If you're going to download 'obvious" copyrighted material (full CDs, DVD movie rips, software image files) using p2p methods such as Kazaa, EMule, Bittorrents then there is the chance you will be contacted by your Japanese ISP and told to cease such activities. They will only contact you if they in turn have been contacted by outside agencies - at least this is what has happened in the past.

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