A bill to revise the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's bylaw to promote the healthy development of youths has been voted down by the metropolitan assembly amid some controversy. Its main feature was to limit where a store could display cartoons and animation that depict the sexual activities of youths. Many creators of these materials feared infringement on their rights of expression.
The bill stipulated that cartoons and animation belong in the "adult corner" of stores if the materials "recklessly" and "positively" depict the sexual activities of characters presumed to be 18 or younger in a manner thought to hamper children's judgments about sex. The bill listed such factors as clothing, belongings, school year, voice and visual backgrounds as criteria for deciding whether the characters portrayed were 18 or younger.
In addition, the bill said that cartoons and animation that "positively" depict activities that run extremely counter to social norms, such as rape, should also be displayed in an adult corner, irrespective of the presumed age of the characters portrayed.