Following are some responses to "A light of hope for abused children" (Zeit Gist, June 15) by Richard Smart.

I was impressed with Richard Smart's lengthy treatment of the Polaris Project, especially because I have just finished reading Jake Adelstein's book "Tokyo Vice."

However, there is one point in the article that I would like to mention. Mr. Smart quotes "people in the manga industry" as saying that there are fewer cases of rape in Japan than in other countries, even though some manga feature rape. The speaker concludes from this that there may not be a strong connection between manga and the sexual abuse of children.