Due to Tokuras previous position and his lobbying efforts on behalf of JASRAC, his appointment sparked concerns about his ability to balance protecting the rights of artists and creators while also ensuring the freedom of individuals who use copyrighted works.8. The 2013 My Number law introduced a unique 12-digit number for all long-term residents used to access unified social welfare services and taxation purposes. Do conditions impede users ability to mobilize, form communities, and campaign, particularly on political and social issues? For example, the Jiminto (LDP) Net Supporters Club (J-NSC), organized in 2010, had about 19,000 members as of 2017. Does the government exercise technical or legal control over internet infrastructure for the purposes of restricting connectivity? Mori resigned a week after the petition was created (see B8). There are few obstacles to internet access, no blocks on websites, and the legal framework provides strong protections for various forms of expression. Since today we are discussing censorship, I thought it would be appropriate to show two books of Japanese early nineteenth-century shunga (lit. The origin of the term "censor" is traced to the office of censor created in ancient Rome, around 443 BC. Individuals who are half-black and half-Japanese, continue to face racism online. Facebook reported 66 government requests involving 82 accounts between July and December 2020. The constitutional right to secrecy of communications is also protected under telecommunications laws.2 Some tabloid newspapers and online news outlets have reportedly harassed journalists who disagreed with the government more broadly.4, Women also continue to face targeted online harassment. At the end of the coverage period, the government had not taken steps to restrict use of the platform. However, some digital activities require separate registration. politicians who violate the existing restrictions face a potential fine of 300,000 ($2,720) or one year in prison; imprisonment would strip perpetrators of their right to vote or run for office. In May 2018, public broadcaster NHK and the Intercept reported on the activities of the Directorate for Signals Intelligence (DFS), a spy agency that monitors and analyzes electronic communications.15 The book concludes by assessing the current state of censorship in Japan and likely future developments. Is access to the internet prohibitively expensive or beyond the reach of certain segments of the population for geographical, social, or other reasons? Though exceptional, such incidents still exert a chilling effect on Japanese online expression. Japan tends to censor some stuff like decapitations and gore. (Feb. 22, 2021) On December 30, 2020, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin signedFederal Law No. The Tokyo-based Safer Internet Association (SIA) reported that it was asked to manage over 7,276 cases of nonconsensual sharing of intimate images in 2019 and secured the deletion of the content in 6,771 (93 percent) of those cases.2, Previously, inflammatory, nationalist speech targeting Japanese residents of Korean origin and other minority groups was also subject to removal. The Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets came into force in 2014, despite objections from the opposition, civil society, and protesters. 1850 M St. NW Floor 11 Censorship of pornography in Japan, be it animated, photographed or filmed, has always been superficial, focusing on blocking out or blurring the sex organs. 22 of 2021 on Environmental Protection and Management ("GR No.22/2021"). A new player, e-commerce company Rakuten, which seeks to become Japans fourth major mobile service provider, launched its mobile service in April 2020.2. Japanese politician Yamada Taro has proposed changes to Criminal Code 175, so that hentai and pornography would no longer be censored. Article 21 of Japans constitution prohibits censorship and protects freedom of speech, press, and all other forms of expression, as well as the secrecy of any means of communication.1 COVID-19 patients and individuals who allegedly tested positive for the virus also faced harassment on social media.2. During the previous reporting period, a number of users were charged with virus-related offenses (see C3). A Change.org petition calling for Mori's resignation garnered more than 145,000 signatures in one week. Otherwise, individuals or police ask ISPs to administratively delete contested or illegal content. However, recent developments in Japan have raised serious concerns about increased surveillance, including reports of opaque surveillance operations and the approval of a conspiracy law that may allow police to seek wiretap warrants in a wider range of circumstances. Some companies report on data requests they receive from government agencies. Outstanding challenges include ethnic and gender-based discrimination and claims of improperly close relations between government and the business sector. Taniwaki, who had been instrumental in the governments policies on mobile phone prices, was quickly transferred to another position.7, In March 2021, the Cabinet approved Shunichi Tokura, the former chairman of the Japan Music Rights Association (JASRAC), as Commissioner for Cultural Affairs. : spring pictures) that are banned in present-day Japan and were printed and published in the USA. According to Article 23(1) of Japan's Public Housing Law, it only applies to married and unmarried different-sex couples. Wi-Fi access has been tied to mobile subscriptions in the past, which presents a barrier for users without contracts.7, Connectivity is occasionally restricted accidentally or due to network congestion and server outages. Chinese groups BlackTech and Tick were reportedly behind the breaches.7 Under the guidelines, anyone can report material that infringes directly on their personal rights to the service provider, either to have it removed or to find out who posted it. The report notes that the NSA provided XKEYSCORE, a surveillance tool that can search through a range of content and metadata online, to the DFS.17. The law did not actually ban or penalize hate speech, leading some critics to argue that it would be ineffective.6 In January 2021, the three major mobile phone companies launched new low-cost plans, after decades of pressure from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.3 Mosaics cover genitalia. Kisha clubs provide essential access to officials in Japan, but they have been accused of denying such access to young journalists and new media outlets; the system may also limit some reporters access to certain locations, such as areas affected by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Customers in small cities, towns, and villages paid an average monthly price of nearly 3,024 ($29.04). Criminal sanctions for misusing personal data and restrictions on the transfer of personal data to overseas jurisdictions that lack equivalent safeguards were also strengthened.7 Three men and three women, who acted as instructors and executors alongside Hoshino, were also convicted of violating the Copyright Act.1 Some Japanese security agencies may have equipment enabling the blanket collection and monitoring of communications data, though it is unclear how such technology has been used, what laws govern its employment, and what, if any, safeguards there are. In 2017, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google and established criteria for delisting search results that same year.10 The East Asia Summit which includes the 10 ASEAN members plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States issued several statements in 2021, including one on Women, Peace, and Security, noting the importance of women's roles to addressing root causes of terrorism. Observers argue that the industry has generally improved since the MIC was established in 2001, which resulted from the merger of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and the governments Management and Coordination Agency.1, Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) supported by the relevant companies in these three sectors perform a self-regulatory function. This code sets the age of consent for sexual activity at 13 for girls and 14 for boys, and it has remained unchanged since then. In April 2018, the government asked internet service providers (ISPs) to block manga piracy sites, including Mangamura, AniTube!, and MioMio, prompting a public debate that highlighted tensions between the protection of intellectual property on one hand and users rights to private communications and the constitutional ban on censorship on the other.2 A 2011 law criminalized the creation or distribution of computer viruses without a legitimate reason.13 The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shocked Japan, a country with one of the world's lowest rates of gun crime due to its strict laws on gun ownership. A law enacted in 2003 and revised in 2008 prohibits electronic communications encouraging sexual activity with minors.14 In April 2021, Reporters Without Borders also criticized the kisha club system in their annual World Press Freedom Index.4. 10 To help limit its effectiveness, two local dailies instituted fact-checking processes. Abe was . which attempts to crack the passwords of about 200 million internet-connected devices in homes and offices, starting with webcams, routers, and sensors, in order to better secure vulnerable devices with stronger passwords. Sagamihara City is also planning to enact a criminal ordinance that would target hate speech against members of specific ethnic or racial groups in 2021.18 Depictions of genitalia are pixelated to obscure them for internet users based on a commonthough poorly articulatedinterpretation of Article 175 of the penal code, which governs obscenity.7 Under that law, providers must comply with takedown requests within two days.8, The threat of official content restrictions looms periodically during public debates about child safety, though carriers and content producers have successfully resisted intrusive regulation. No major incidents of physical violence related to peoples online activity were reported during the coverage period, though incidents of online harassment and intimidation, particularly against women, individuals with at least one Black parent, and medical personnel, did occur (see C7). The Hungarian winner of the MTV EMA Generation Change Award says an anti-LGBTQ law passed in June is enticing 'fear and censorship.' Hungarian MTV Award Winner on Life Under Country's LGBTQ Law . While both uploading and downloading pirated material was already illegal under the copyright law, with uploaders subject to 10 years imprisonment or fines of up to 10 million ($90,692), the version in effect since 2012 added two years in jail or fines of up to 2 million ($18,138) for downloading a single pirated file.4, In response to the attempted blocking of manga piracy sites in early 2018 (see B1), the Cultural Council of the Cultural Affairs Agency discussed amending the copyright law to expand the types of content that would be illegal to download or reproduce beyond pirated music and videos, to include material such as social media posts showing animated characters or personal blogs with icons containing copyrighted images.5 The information collected is reportedly stored for around two months, during which it is analyzed to determine if it is of interest to the DFS. Under the guidelines, anyone can report material that infringes directly on their personal rights to the service provider, either to have it removed or to find out who posted it. Do the constitution or other laws fail to protect rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and press freedom, including on the internet, and are they enforced by a judiciary that lacks independence? Acknowledging that "one might think this is simply conjecture by the ACE Economic Research Center," Yasuda then cited five specific Western-oriented changes he believed were instrumental in contributing to the brand's slow march towards self-destruction: 1. Japan's laws on censorship have become a more frequent topic of discussion among anime fans in the past few months. He pleaded guilty to violating Japan's copyright and obscenity laws, NHK reported this month. In November 2020, Capcom, a prominent video game company, reported that it paid a 1.1 billion ($9.9 million) ransom in exchange for the recovery of stolen materials.11 In 2016, the law was expanded to include fraud, theft, and child sexual abuse images.9 The law is scheduled to take effect by the end of 2022. It was not clear how much of the monitoring involved digital as opposed to physical surveillance.14. Law enforcement requests for this data should be supported by a warrant.4 In March 2019, the Yokohama District Court acquitted one defendant, ruling that the cryptocurrency mining program did not constitute a virus.6 In a 2017 report, the United Nations (UNs) special rapporteur on freedom of expression noted that there were significant worrying signals regarding self-censorship among journalists on issues such as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.1 YouTubers and Instagram personalities have also become increasingly influential in recent years. Google reported 145 requests for user data between January and June 2020 and produced some data in 83 percent of cases.16 Does monitoring and collection of user data by service providers and other technology companies infringe on users right to privacy? Mobile service operators are expanding the market for handsets designed for children and the elderly, with easy-to-use, large button designs. Although that years guidelines from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) garnered criticism, they helped address concerns that the cost of switching providers favored dominant players and created a barrier for new market entrants.8 Internet censorship is the suppression of information online or access to the internet by a regulatory body. Experts are concerned that the new policies to streamline data handling between the local and central governments will dilute personal information protections previously established by local governments and may enable increased government surveillance.11 An online petition that received 145,000 signatures called for the resignation of the chairman of the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Yoshiro Mori, after he made sexist comments. Reasons vary from keeping inappropriate material out of reach to trying to stop protests and other public demonstrations from being organized. Are individuals subject to extralegal intimidation or physical violence by state authorities or any other actor in relation to their online activities? Japans antistalking law, originally enacted in 2000, was revised in 2013 to address email harassment, and further revised in 2016 to penalize repeated blog posts or messages on social networking services.15. In March 2020, Japanese central bank Sumitomo Mitsui abolished the official dress code,5 Ensafi's team found that censorship is increasing in 103 of the countries studied, including unexpected places like Norway, Japan, Italy, India, Israel and Polandcountries which the paper notes are rated as some of the freest in the world by advocacy group Freedom House. 2, A 2003 law protects personal information collected electronically by private and public-sector organizations when it consists of more than 5,000 records.3 Are websites, governmental and private entities, service providers, or individual users subject to widespread hacking and other forms of cyberattack? Such posts have attacked critics of the LDP government and have at times initiated negative campaigns against opposition lawmakers.1 The provider notifies the individual who posted the content and fulfills the request with the posters permissionor without it if the individual fails to respond. Political rights and civil liberties are generally well respected. However, in February 2020, he was convicted and received a 100,000 ($906) fine, after the Tokyo High Court overturned the acquittal.7 Changes to broadcasting laws in 1950 prohibited the government from direct interference with programmingthough its board of governors is still appointed by the prime minister and its budget approved by the Dietand permitted the establishment of private commercial broadcasting stations. The laws authors struggled to balance restrictions on racial and ethnic slurs with freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution.5 You can try refreshing the page, and if you're still having problems, just try again later. No citizens faced politically motivated arrest or prosecution for their online activity during the coverage period. Authorities have used the law to convict the operators of manga piracy site Mangamura (see C2 and C3). In the future, says one pundit, that will change. No ordinance was proposed or passed at the end of the coverage period. The MIC requested that four industry associations monitor false or unsubstantiated content circulating about the disaster online. Article 3. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Docomo, KDDI, and SoftBank all launched commercial fifth-generation (5G) services in March 2020.3 This law doesn't make any sense and it just have the opposite effect. Germany, which has. There are concerns that disclosure requests will be misused as a means to suppress the transmission of information.4. And in Japan, case law precedent offers non . Courts have continued to consider lawsuits from individuals requesting that search engines delink inaccurate or irrelevant material about them from public results, but the Supreme Court has laid down important guidance that set limits on such right to be forgotten removals.1 In June 2018, police announced that they arrested 16 website operators for allegedly using a service called Coinhive to mine cryptocurrencies via visitors computers without their consent.4 As 2021 nears its close, a spasm of book banning has spread surprisingly quickly among state and local officials. Does the government place restrictions on anonymous communication or encryption? In March 2020, the government approved a revision of the Copyright Act, making it illegal to download manga, magazines, and academic publications, in addition to music and videos including in the previous version, without the copyright holders permission. 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