A Tokyo publisher was found guilty in a landmark criminal trial Tuesday of distributing obscene comic books containing uncensored sex scenes.
The ruling against Motonori Kishi was the first major case in 20 years to focus on printed pornographic material in Japan. It was also the first ruling to focus on a comic alleged to contain obscene material, under Article 175 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the sale and distribution of obscene literature.
Kishi, the 54-year-old president of comic book publisher Shobunkan Co., received a suspended one-year prison term from the Tokyo District Court for distributing the comic book "Misshitsu" ("Honey Room") in 2002.
His lawyers insisted that Article 175 violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
Prominent scholars and critics were summoned to the court to testify on the case.
Yasuhiro Okudaira, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, said it is not a matter for government authorities to judge if certain materials are obscene. Any restrictions on expression are unconstitutional, he said.
Article 175 does not clearly define obscenity.
But in a 1957 ruling against a translator and publisher of "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence, the Supreme Court gave three prerequisites for obscenity.
It said expression is obscene when it is "unnecessarily sexually stimulating, damages the normal sexual sense of shame of ordinary people, or is against good sexual moral principles."
Shobunkan's cartoonist and chief editor, who were involved in writing and selling the comic book, were arrested with Kishi before being released after each paid a 500,000 yen fine based on a summary judgment.