Toei Video to show banned scenes on the internet

[Aaron Gerow]

On 2004.2.26, at 09:07 午後, Miles Wood wrote:

> And assuming Nikkatsu RomanPornos, not to mention the millions of AV's 
> out
> there, are also subject to Eirin's approval, why can they get away with
> showing what Ishii cannot? I'm a little puzzled....

I'm not familiar with the specifics of Ishii's case, but do remember 
that AV is not under the jurisdiction of Eirin because it is not shown 
in theaters. There seem to be competing self-regulatory organizations 
in the video industry, each of which establishes standards for its 
members. The most famous and the oldest is Viderin (Nihon Bideo Rinri 
Kyokai=Nihon Ethics of Video Association):

http://www.viderin.jp/

Another one is the All Japan Video Association (Zen Nihon Bideo Rinri 
Shinsakai):

http://www.ajvs.net/

There is also the Media Ethics Association (Media Rinri Kyokai):

http://www.media-ethics.com/

I haven't really researched this, so I don't know the exact relations 
between these organizations, but when video issues are mentioned in the 
papers, it is usually Viderin that is mentioned as the equivalent of 
Eirin. But one can't compare their standards because they are different 
industries with different histories. Eirin historically has been less 
conservative than the police but more conservative than customs (which 
is hard to believe), but even after the police allowed more pubic hair, 
Eirin has been resisting the level of exposure that is now common in 
print pornography.

Also, Nikkatsu Roman Poruno stopped production in 1988, long before the 
police allowed more exposure of pubic hair, so I don't believe there 
was ever a Roman Poruno film that could be said to have gotten away 
with what Ishii could not.

Aaron Gerow
Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu