TOKYO — Facing growing international calls to crack down on child pornography, Japan yesterday took initial steps toward restricting Internet access to sexually explicit images of minors.
A government task force established this year agreed that child pornographic websites should be blocked immediately upon discovery, instead of waiting for an official investigation or arrests.
The recommendation is expected to be approved by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Cabinet in June as part of a package of steps that Japan hopes will quell condemnation of the country’s legal lenience toward child pornography.
While making, selling, and distributing child pornography are crimes here, simple possession is not. Activists and critics, including Washington, call it a legal loophole that has turned Japan into a global hub for child pornography.
In its 2009 Human Rights Report, the Department of State said the absence of a law against possessing child pornography “makes it difficult for police to obtain search warrants, preventing them from effectively enforcing existing child pornography laws or participating in international law enforcement efforts in this area.’’
Last year, Japanese lawmakers were on the verge of crafting a bill that would criminalize simple possession. But the effort collapsed amid political turmoil that led to the dissolution of the lower house, national elections, and a new ruling party.
The Democratic Party of Japan has so far spurned legislation banning possession because of concerns over freedom of expression.
What emerged instead is the latest plan targeting Internet access, which calls for the National Police Agency and the Internet Hotline Center to work together to detect child pornography online.
When material is found, Internet service providers will be obligated to promptly block the sites.
Anti-child pornography activists described the plan as a step in the right direction, though short of addressing fundamental legal flaws.
