As many of you may have noticed, pretty much any display of genitalia in Japan has to be censored. This includes manga and anime. This is due to Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code , which states that “ any person who distributes, sells, or publicly discloses an obscene writing, image, or other materials shall be punished .” But how is it that the figures evade this law?
It turns out that porn figures (or rather, h_ntai figures) can freely display genitalia such as vulvas on female characters and even interchangeable penises (either flaccid or erect) on male ones. Apparently there are no restrictions in this case beyond the packaging, since they are sold in boxes with completely censored illustrations.
This was explained several years ago in a Forbes article that included an interview with Frances Delgado , a Los Angeles collector who is an expert on the subject:
- I had the opportunity to interview Aki Takanori from Good Smile Company for my personal blog, but due to all the complications with AX Live, I had already given away all my interview questions to the AX staff to use in their interview with him. So when I had the opportunity to interview him, I realized that he had already given away all my good questions. I decided, "I'll ask him the questions I want to know for myself as his fan."
- One of the questions I remember asking him was, “How do Japanese figure makers get around censorship laws in Japan?” Censorship in Japan is very strict and full nudity cannot be shown. But many figures are fully detailed and there is no censorship. He said there was a legal loophole because the figures are technically sculptures. He was surprised that she asked him the question.
- I didn't expect a fan from the West to have done so much research on their product. In the end I gave him my business cards, which have photos I have taken of my figures for my blog. He and his translator left the room and I thought that was it.
Source: Forbes
