ABSTRACT
In this chapter the author offers a historical overview of the regulation of sexual content primarily in relation to the Japanese print media. The Edo period, sometimes referred to as Japan’s early modern period, lasted from 1603 to 1868. The 1868 Meiji Restoration saw the emperor restored to a position of authority at the head of a constitutional monarchy and Edo was renamed Tokyo. The number of obscenity cases brought before the courts since the 1970s has been relatively small due to a range of self-regulatory mechanisms in place across all Japanese media industries that advise members on permissible limits. Even today, the police are seen as having a role in the moral guidance of the nation and are frequently the first to act in cases of suspected obscenity. In Japan, as elsewhere, ‘protection of children’ is likely to remain the main front on which future battles over sexual representation in the media are fought.
