Throughout 2020, two South Australian politicians ran a campaign against manga and anime.
This would result in titles being removed from bookstores and ultimately, the banning of three volumes of NO GAME NO LIFE.
No Game No Life
Author Yuu Kamiya / Publisher Yen Press / 2015-19 / Japan
In early 2020, Senator Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance) made the following speech in parliament.
It would mark the beginning of a manga scare campaign that would continue for much of the year.
February 25, 2020
Senator GRIFF (South Australia) (20:28): Child exploitation is a global problem, heightened by modern technology and the myriad of platforms that are used to access such material. Only last week the heads of the three law enforcement agencies addressed the National Press Club warning of the problems Australia is trying to fight in respect to online child exploitation, and the Prime Minister said that he would kick down doors to save an abused child. As legislators, we have a critical role to play in stamping it out. There is much more to be done, and areas where we need to focus more attention, such as the child abuse material that comes into Australia via Japanese amine and manga.Anime is a style of Japanese animation and manga are the graphic novels which serve as the basis for anime. They both share a unique visual style and they are popular the world over, especially amongst teenagers. But there is, unfortunately, a dark side and a disgusting side to anime and manga, with a significant proportion of the two media featuring child abuse material. They contain depictions of wide-eyed children, usually in school uniforms, engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, and often being sexually abused.
Experts that advocate against child exploitation have referred to this type of anime and manga as a gateway to the abuse of actual children. Experts also say that explicit anime and manga can be used by paedophiles as tools to groom children. It makes me sick to the stomach to even speak about this.
Incredibly, in Japan the definition of child abuse material specifically excludes child porn anime and manga, as these media don’t include real children. Chaku ero, which means erotically clothed, is a type of child exploitation material that features sexualised images of actual children and it remains legal in Japan as long as it doesn’t involve full nudity. So sexualised images are legal, provided they don’t involve full nudity. How does that work? Every expert combating child exploitation will tell you that this is very wrong.
At the time of the 2014 changes to child pornography laws in Japan, lobbyists on behalf of the Japan Cartoonists Association argued that a total ban on explicit content would damage the entire industry. Their argument was that imaginary images, unlike real child abuse, mean that no-one is actually hurt. I don’t buy that argument. Child pornography, even in animated form, is child abuse material. There is absolutely no question about it.
The law in Australia is very clear. The Commonwealth Criminal Code prohibits the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material that depicts a person, or is a representation of a person, who is or appears to be under 18. It is unambiguous.
In 2015 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography visited Japan and also declared this type of manga was child abuse material. In Australia the law in respect of child abuse is very different to Japan’s, and for good reason. I was horrified to learn that this type of child abuse material is freely available in some of our country’s most popular retail outlets, despite being in clear breach of the definition of child abuse material in both Commonwealth and state laws.
My staff recently alerted me to a series that was distributed in Australia by Madman Entertainment called SWORD ART ONLINE. SWORD ART ONLINE appears in various media platforms from light novels, manga, anime and video games. The series takes place in the near future and focuses on protagonists Kirito and Asuna as they play through virtual reality worlds. One particular episode SWORD ART ONLINE EXTRA EDITION has an M classification, which allows children under 15 to legally access the material. This classification rating is advisory only and is described as having ‘moderate impact’, with no legal restrictions.
The movie undoubtedly features the abuse of children. In one explicit scene that takes place in the virtual world the character Asuna is raped by her captor Sugu, who threatens to also rape her in the real world, where she is lying in a hospital room in a catatonic state. He also states that he’ll make a recording of the virtual rape to shame her as well. The rape, incredibly, is referred to as a ‘fun party’. Asuna is chained and her clothes are ripped from her while Kirito is forced to witness the rape. Asuna is described as a 17-year-old girl.
In another scene high school girls are at a swimming pool and one of the girls indecently assaults another character by repeatedly squeezing her breasts and bullies her because of her physicality. The Classification Board’s decision report for this movie justifies the M rating by saying that the nudity through the film is ‘moderate in impact’ and ‘justified by context’. How can the sexual assault of a child, even in animation, be justified by context?
Further research by my staff uncovered another series called NO GAME NO LIFE. This series is hypersexualised and features incest themes between the two main characters: brother and sister Sora and Shiro. The Classification Board’s decision report for NO GAME NO LIFE states:
Throughout the material the female characters are frequently depicted in sequences that feature panning visuals of or close focus on their crotches, breasts, legs and/or buttocks.
They are describing images of children. These images are in contravention of the law, plain and simple.
The worst anime my office discovered is EROMANGA SENSEI. The plot is beyond what any person would consider normal or appropriate. The series features 12-year-old Sagiri, who draws pornographic manga while her 15-year-old stepbrother writes the books. Revealing clothing and sexually provocative poses are frequently depicted throughout the series, with the characters seen copying these poses and referring to genitalia. The series also heavily features incest themes, and many scenes are so disturbing I just won’t—I just can’t—describe them.
Whilst the series has a restricted MA15+ classification, I say again that this falls within the definition of ‘child abuse material’ contained in the Commonwealth Criminal Code and should be banned. It beggars belief how it passed through the classification board who, in their decision report, provide justification for scenes including ‘upskirting’ as comedic. There is nothing funny about it. It is repellent.
The series should have been denied classification and should be banned.
The Classification Board appears to be making decisions in isolation to criminal law. This must stop. There is also the issue of explicit manga graphic novels, which are not vetted at all by the Classification Board. Often, the images they contain are more harrowing than anime. This must also change. The rape of children is abundant in manga, like the series GOBLIN SLAYER, which, in my office, we showed to a number of people today and they were absolutely horrified. In GOBLIN SLAYER children are often portrayed as frightening or resisting but they’re also shown as enjoying sexual abuse—enjoying it. As I’ve said, experts say that paedophiles are using this material to groom children: ‘Have a look at this; this is normal.’ It’s certainly not normal.I’ve already made a submission to the review of Australian classification regulation, currently underway, to raise these issues, but we cannot wait for the review findings. We must act now. The Australian Federal Police have said that they do not condone any form of child exploitation or activity of any kind that reinforces the sexualisation of children. I agree, and I think they must look at this material urgently.
I’ve written to the Minister for Home Affairs about the issue and to the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. I’m calling for the immediate review of all Japanese anime movies currently accessible in Australia. I am also seeking the banning of particular titles I have referred to and, indeed, any other anime and manga featuring the abuse and exploitation of children, very much as a matter of urgency. I’ve also written to the Japanese justice minister in relation to these issues. I expressed my hope that the Japanese government will open its eyes to the insidious effect of these materials and take action to put the best interests and safety of children above all. South Korea has managed to ban anime and manga of images of child sexual abuse. The safety and wellbeing of children in Australia must be a paramount consideration for all of us in Australia and across our borders.
– Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance)
– Senate, Parliament of Australia
February 26, 2020
Senator GRIFF (South Australia) (16:51): I move:That the Senate—
(a) condemns child exploitation material of any kind and through any medium;
(b) acknowledges that Japanese anime (animation) and manga (graphic novels) are visual mediums which share a unique style in which some media depict children in explicit sexual activities, poses and even being sexually abused;
(c) notes that:
(i) Japanese anime and manga depicting scenes and images of child abuse is readily available for sale at retail outlets, online and for consumption on streaming services in Australia,
(ii) certain anime containing child abuse material has received classification by the Classification Board, allowing it to be imported and sold in Australia, and
(iii) explicit manga is currently not vetted by the Classification Board;
(d) recognises that the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 prohibits the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material “that depicts a person or a representation of a person who is or appears to be under 18”; and
(e) calls on the Federal Government to:
(i) ensure the current Review of Australian Classification Regulation considers how the Classification Board deals with child abuse depictions in animation and considers extending its oversight to printed materials, and
(ii) facilitate the removal of all such child abuse material in animation and print, as a matter of urgency.
Question agreed to.
– Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance)
– Senate, Parliament of Australia
All M or MA15+
The anime titles referenced in Stirling Griff’s speech all held Australian ratings.
NO GAME, NO LIFE (2014)
MA15+ (Strong sexual themes) – August 2015.
SWORD ART ONLINE: EXTRA EDITION (2013)
M (Sexualised imagery, sexual references and animated violence) – October 2016.
EROMANGA SENSEI VOLUME 1 (2017)
MA15+ (Strong sexual themes) – May 2018.
EROMANGA SENSEI VOLUME 2 (2017)
MA15+ (Strong sexual themes) – July 2018.
GOBLIN SLAYER! SEASON 1 (2018)
MA15+ (Strong animated bloody violence and sexual violence) – October 2019.
Now for the facts
The following critique of Stirling Griff’s speech has further details of the titles that were mentioned.
February 26, 2020
…SWORD ART ONLINE. The very popular series available on Netflix which aired on television in many countries. The first season was broadcast in Australia – albeit with some edits – on ABC ME, a free-to-air children’s channel.Griff namedrops a TV special from the series, SWORD ART ONLINE: EXTRA EDITION, which is classified as ‘M’ in Australia for “Sexualised imagery, sexual references and animated violence”.
He then proceeds to describe the “rape”scene, making it appear as though a helpless girl is graphically raped on-screen and another boy is forced to watch. The language he used manipulated the parliament, without any kind of photo or video material to work on, to picture a graphic rape involving explicit underage nudity and penetration.
However, it is mentioned multiple times in the series that the villain does not actually manage to rape Asuna in this scene (age-restricted, probably NSFW). And yes, that is the same scene from EXTRA EDITION, as it is a recap of the series. If anything, EXTRA EDITION‘s version is lower in impact than the original, as it cuts the scene down for time restraint.
I’m not expecting Griff to have watched all of SWORD ART ONLINE to know this – I’m expecting him or one of his cronies to do some research, as well as provide the parliament with the video of the “rape” in question, and ask themselves if it’s any more graphic then what can be seen on typical television shows on free-to-air Australian TV after 9pm.
(This is why I linked the video here – does anyone who keeps up on age ratings think that it needs to be refused classification?)
Furthermore, Kirito is ultimately the hero of the story and saves Asuna from the situation, even if things do look dire for a bit. The story does not in any way glamorize or encourage sexual assault. It seems that Griff subscribes to a logic that is becoming scarily common that villains are not allowed to do bad things.
…there is no indication in the anime of NO GAME NO LIFE that Sora and Shiro are in a romantic or sexual relationship.
Griff then reads off a brief snippet from the Classification Board about the series having an occasional camera focus on “crotches, breasts, legs and/or buttocks”, and says that the report is referring to “children.” Again, no visual evidence, take his word for it and let your imagination go wild.
Another NSFW video clip for you – here’s a fast compilation of pretty much all the fanservice in the series. For those who can’t or don’t want to view it, with the exception of a few shots of Shiro bathing (no close-ups on her breasts, hair obscures sensitive detail), the clips involve young women with ample busts. When Griff keeps talking about ‘children’, I am certain that is not what the parliament is thinking of.
EROMANGA SENSEI…the brother and sister pair aren’t biologically related, nor did they really have any kind of relationship with each other before they realized they were working on manga together.
– Australian senator doesn’t understand ratings, begins slippery slope to banning everything
– article @ highimpactclassification.wordpress.com
The censor responds
The Classification Board were concerned by the attention, as they felt it necessary to issue one of their rare media releases.
February 27, 2020
The Classification Board (the Board) is aware of concerns about the classification of certain Japanese anime genre films, specifically SWORD ART ONLINE: EXTRA EDITION, NO GAME NO LIFE, and EROMANGA SENSEI VOLUMES 1 & 2, and about comic books featuring manga style drawings not being classified by the Board.The Board classifies films in accordance with the Guidelines for the Classification of Films (the Film Guidelines). There are not specific or separate guidelines to classify animated films. Films can be classified in the classification categories from G to R 18+ (with the X 18+ category limited to films containing sexually explicit activity). If a film contains content that exceeds the scope and limits of content that is permitted in the R 18+ category, it will be Refused Classification (RC). Films in the anime genre have been classified across a range of categories, including M, MA 15+, R 18+ and RC.
The Film Guidelines require an assessment of impact of six classifiable elements (themes, violence, sex, coarse language, drug use and nudity); not an assessment of the genre type or whether the film depicts ‘real’ people or animated characters. The Guidelines state “Context is crucial in determining whether a classifiable element is justified by the story‑line or themes. This means that material that falls into a particular classification category in one context may fall outside it in another.”
In addition to determining the classification, the Board must determine consumer advice for a film. The purpose of consumer advice is to draw attention to only the most impactful and frequent content relating to the six classifiable elements. Therefore, not all the content in a film will warrant consumer advice. The classifications for the named films are:
SWORD ART ONLINE: EXTRA EDITION is classified M with consumer advice ‘sexualised imagery, sexual references and animated violence.
NO GAME NO LIFE is classified MA 15+ with consumer advice ‘strong sexual themes’.
EROMANGA SENSEI VOLUMES 1 & 2 are classified MA 15+ with consumer advice ‘strong sexual themes’.
Regarding comic books, only submittable publications are required to be classified. The Board classifies submittable publications in accordance with the Guidelines for the Classification of Publications. It is the responsibility of distributors of comic books to decide if the comic book should be classified. States and territories are responsible for classification enforcement legislation which includes offences for selling an unclassified submittable publication.
The Board is aware that a campaign has been launched about the sale of Japanese manga and anime in Australia and that in the context of the Government’s Review of Classification Regulation this issue has been raised. The Board welcomes this review.
– Classification of anime films
– Margaret Anderson, Director, Classification Board
Voices from South Australia
The following day Connie Bonaros (SA-Best) and Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance) revealed more of their investigation.
February 28. 2020
Sickening child pornography material is being sold widely over the counter in popular Australian retail outlets, a special investigation by SA-BEST and Centre Alliance has found.A range of animated movies and “comic books” showing sexually-explicit images of young girls and connotations of incest and rape involving minors are being freely sold in some of the country’s most popular retail outlets, and online.
The investigation found that some of child exploitation material has been reviewed and classified legal by the Classification Board – despite falling within the meaning of child abuse material under the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 which makes it illegal to both sell and buy some pornographic items – while other graphic material has not been reviewed and/or classified due to disturbing loopholes in current laws.
The SA-BEST-Centre Alliance investigation revealed the explicit child exploitation material is found in a Japanese form of animation called anime – both on Blue Ray discs and in Japanese “comic books” called manga.
The two forms of media share a unique visual style that is globally popular – especially among teens.
However, there is a sinister and sickening side to anime and manga with a significant proportion of the two media featuring child abuse material containing images of wide-eyed depictions of children – usually in school uniform – who are engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, often being sexually abused.
This is referred to as “hentai” anime and manga which child abuse experts warn that paedophiles use as a tool to groom children.
SA-BEST MLC and Attorney General spokesperson, Connie Bonaros – who recently introduced laws to ban childlike sex dolls in South Australia – and her Federal colleague, Centre Alliance Senator Stirling Griff, are demanding urgent action by the Federal Government to ensure laws banning such child exploitation material are properly enforced.
Connie has written to all of the state Attorneys-General to alert them to the issue and requesting they take immediate action to stop the material being sold.
Stirling has written to the Minister for Home Affairs and to the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts requesting the government takes immediate action.
Connie said she felt “sick to the core” by the findings of the investigation.
“I am horrified that child pornography material is freely available in Australia despite clearly being in breach of the definition of child abuse and exploitation material under both commonwealth and state law,” Connie said.
“Even in cartoon/anime form, this is child pornography and the law in Australia is explicitly clear about it,” she said.
“Depictions and/or representations that appear or are implied to be of under 18-year-old children and are depicted in sexual poses or engaged in sexual activity or is a victim of torture, cruelty or abuse is child abuse material under both commonwealth and state criminal laws.
“Any retailer who sells such pornographic material is in serious breach of the law but probably is not aware of it given current laws are not being properly enforced.”
Stirling said a number of anime (animation) films containing child abuse material – such as rape scenes – had received classification by the Classification Board, allowing them to be imported and sold in Australia.
However, explicit manga (graphic novels) is currently not vetted by the Classification Board and is freely available due to the fact all film and video games must be submitted for classification, publications are only required to be submitted if they are deemed to be a ‘submittable publication’ putting the onus on distributors and publishers to determine what they should submit.
This is despite the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 prohibiting the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material “that depicts a person or a representation of a person who is or appears to be under 18”.
“Graphic Japanese manga novels and anime depicting sickening child abuse, rape, incest and sexualised images of children should be removed from shelves, streaming services and banned from entering the country,” Stirling said.
“Child exploitation is a global problem, heightened by modern technology and the myriad of platforms that are used to access such material,” he said.
“As legislators, we have a critical role to play in stamping it out. There is much more to be done, and areas where we need to focus more attention, such as the child abuse material that comes into Australia via Japanese anime and manga.
“Experts that advocate against child exploitation have referred to this type of anime and manga as a gateway to the abuse of actual children. Experts also say that explicit anime and manga can be used by paedophiles as tools to groom children.
“Incredibly, in Japan the definition of child abuse material specifically excludes child porn anime and manga, as these media don’t include real children.
“But the law in Australia is very clear. The Commonwealth Criminal Code prohibits the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material that depicts a person, or is a representation of a person, who is or appears to be under 18. It is unambiguous.
“The Classification Board appears to be making decisions in isolation to criminal law. This must stop. There is also the issue of explicit manga graphic novels, which are not vetted at all by the Classification Board.
“I recently made a submission to the current Review of Australian classification regulation raising issues over the inadequacy of the current regime to deal with such abusive material but we can’t wait for the review to report, we must act now.
“The Board doesn’t seem to be following its own guidelines* properly.”
The SA-BEST-Centre Alliance special investigation found the shocking child abuse material is freely available in Australia – including in well-known electronics store and popular bookstores in Adelaide and Sydney – as well as online.
The investigation follows a trip Connie made late last year to Japan – regarded as the home of the manufacture and distribution of childlike sex dolls – where she heard disturbing accounts from people at the frontline fighting the scourge of child sex exploitation in that country.
Connie said her trip to Japan was an extremely productive and educative despite attempts to meet with the Minister for Justice being declined at the 11th hour.
“I was able to meet with several outstanding non-government organisations advocating against child sexual abuse, child abuse material and child sexual exploitation in Japan – which is a significant problem in that country,” Connie said.
“These remarkable women are working in difficult circumstances with absolutely no government funding and are up against a system that does not view child abuse material in the same way we do,” she said.
“They were left shocked when they heard about the extent of our robust child exploitation laws in Australia.
“They all welcomed assistance from external sources and were grateful that an Australian politician was keen to support them and assist in any way to achieve legislative change with respect to child abuse and child exploitation laws in Japan.
“They are desperate for pressure to be exerted on the Japanese government in order to bring about meaningful change because, ultimately, child exploitation knows no borders – and that’s what SA-BEST and Centre Alliance intend to do.”
Connie will return to Japan later this year to continue the dialogue with these organisations and attempt to raise her concerns with the Japanese Government.
The Board’s own guidelines for films state:
The Board’s own Guidelines for the Classification of Films states that films will be refused classification if they include any of the following:
“Descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse or any other exploitative or offensive descriptions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years”
and/or features:
“gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of…incest fantasies or other fantasies which are offensive or abhorrent”.
– Explicit child pornography material being sold over the counter in Australian retail outlets
– SA-Best – Centre Alliance investigation
February 28, 2020
SA Best Upper House MP Connie Bonaros has been investigating Japanese anime and manga publications and found many for sale that she believed should not have got past the Classification Board.“They are effectively regulating this material like they would a video game or like they would a film, but they are doing so in isolation of our criminal law,” Ms Bonaros said.
“Our federal criminal code clearly says that this material would meet the definition of child exploitation material and therefore should not be available at all.”
Ms Bonaros’s federal colleague, Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff, has joined her campaign, launching a motion in Parliament calling for an urgent review of classification regulations.
While all videos pass through the Classification Board, it only looks at comic books if they are submitted,and it is up to the book’s distributors to decide if it needs to be classified.
Ms Bonaros and Senator Griff want this changed and are calling for an ongoing review of classification regulations to extend the board’s oversight to printed materials.
The owner of Adelaide store Shin Tokyo, William Chappell, said the artform had a 60-year history, and like other parts of the entertainment industry, content could range from child-friendly through to pornographic.
He said while the Classification Board was experienced in dealing with the material, he was still careful about what he sold in his shop.
“We’re a family-friendly store so we’re really careful ordering products,” he said.
Ms Bonaros took up the campaign of child exploitation material in anime and manga after travelling to Japan to push for child-like sex dolls to be banned.
“The trip to Japan was a bit of an eye-opener in many regards,” she said.
“Obviously, when I went there I wasn’t aware of the extent of the problem of manga.”Ms Bonaros said laws in Japan did not consider drawings to be child exploitation material, but there were groups there campaigning for it to be banned.
She said she wanted to help Japanese activists who believed pressure from other countries would help their cause.
“They need external pressure — they need their politicians to understand that the rest of the world doesn’t look at this material through the same lens that they do,” Ms Bonaros said.
“There is a lot of pressure being applied at the moment in Japan, but it is being done very discreetly, so what they’ve told me is the more help they can get from external countries, the more hope they have of making some inroads in terms of ensuring that their child exploitation laws are stronger.”
– Anime and manga depicting sexual images of children spark calls for review of classification laws
– article @ abc.com.au
Griff vs The Classification Board
During Senate estimates, Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance) had an opportunity to question the Classification Board.
March 3, 2020
CHAIR: The committee will now resume with the Classification Board. Ms Anderson, welcome again. I understand that the opportunity to table your opening statement has been made available to you. Do you have any comments that you wish to make at the start?Ms Anderson : Not at this time.
Senator GRIFF: What do you see as the Classification Board’s primary role?
Ms Anderson : It’s to classify media content for Australians. It’s governed largely by the provisions that sit in the Classification Act for Australia, and, as well as that, you need to look at the National Classification Code. We’ve got three sets of statutory guidelines that govern the classification of films, computer games and publications.
Senator GRIFF: But that doesn’t actually include all publications, though, does it?
Ms Anderson : It includes what the Classification Act refers to as a ‘submittable publication’. It’s got a special definition that sits in section 5 of the act, and it is basically that a publication that contains descriptions or depictions that are likely to cause the publication to be refused classification or are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult to the extent that the publication should not be sold or displayed as an unrestricted publication—so it can still cause offence, but it just cannot be at an unrestricted level; it has to have a higher classification category—or are unsuitable for minors to see or read. There are three classification categories for publications in Australia.
Senator GRIFF: But, in relation to publications, it’s up to the importer or distributor to determine whether it actually meets that criteria to be sent to you, though, isn’t it?
Ms Anderson : That’s largely correct in the sense that the onus is on people to apply for a classification decision.
Senator GRIFF: So if you don’t know about something, you just don’t know about it, obviously, unless it’s actually sent to you because someone has decided that actually does meet that criteria.
Ms Anderson : Yes.
Senator GRIFF: On your website, you state, ‘Members are mindful of their statutory requirements to make decisions that are good in law.’ Does that include meeting the provisions of the Criminal Code?
Ms Anderson : We’re not required to classify except in relation to the classification laws of Australia. Having said that, the National Classification Code specifies what materials must be refused classification.
Senator GRIFF: So the Criminal Code itself doesn’t bear into it; it’s just basically what you’re saying in relation to the classification laws. That’s good. Do any of your members have any experience in statutory interpretation?
Ms Anderson : We are all trained in principles of administrative law when we start. Depending upon the background of members, some people have that experience and some don’t.
Senator GRIFF: I’d like to now turn to the topic of anime, which you’re well aware of with your media release given that I raised it in the Senate last week. It’s clear a small proportion of anime—not all anime—depicts child abuse which falls under the Criminal Code. I appreciate, as you said, that you don’t work directly under that, but the code states that representation of a person who appears to be under 18 and is a victim of torture, cruelty or physical abuse or is engaged in a sexual pose or sexual activity is an offence. Is that a concern to the board?
Ms Anderson : I think, in terms of anime being a film form, it’s important to appreciate that there will be stories that are told in film to which we will sometimes relate very easily as an audience member, and there will be other stories that are in films to which we may find ourselves not relating, or we could, in fact, find them distasteful. But I think what is important is to appreciate that anime is a film form and it is, therefore, classified under the classification laws. There are certainly occasions on which a film may exceed what can be accommodated within the G to R18+ classification categories, and on those occasions those films must be refused classification.
Senator GRIFF: One example, which you referred in your media release is SWORD ART ONLINE EXTRA EDITION, which depicts the rape of a 17-year-old character called Asuna, and her captor also rapes her in the real world when she is comatose in hospital. That scene in particular is not referred to at all in the board’s decision report of 17 October 2016. Why would such a graphic scene like that not be referred to in your decision report?
Ms Anderson : What we say in our decision report is that the examples that we describe are not an exhaustive list of the content that has led to the classification decision. The expectation we have on our classifiers, when they’re creating their report, is that they will feature in their report some of the most impactful content that has led to the classification of that film. I would not know without viewing this film, but, again, there could be perhaps 50 different scenes in a product that goes for 101 minutes that have got impactful content at the classification level. It’s not possible for us to write up all of those so the onus is on the classifier to make the call about what is going to explain to people the classification decision. On that occasion, this particular classifier has chosen what he or she has felt is impactful content to demonstrate the decision regarding the classification for that film.
Senator GRIFF: I would think it’s pretty impactful that a 17-year-old character is raped, or told that they’ll be raped in the real world when they’re comatose in a hospital. I find it very surprising that that would be something that would be omitted by that particular person. In your guidelines for classification of films it states:
“Films will be refused classification if they include or contain any of the following”—
I will go on. It says—
“Descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse or any other exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions involving a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 years”—
and it features—
“Gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of… (ii) incest fantasies or other fantasies”—
and so on. Do you still believe that the classification award rating of M for that particular movie, that does describe the rape of a 17-year-old girl, is the appropriate classification?
Ms Anderson : Senator, I’ve got to say to you that one of the most important principles to do with classification of media content is in fact context. What we are looking at here is an animated story, and that is not to say that all stories are permissible. It is not live content involving an illegal criminal act that is being viewed. It’s a story. Typical of some Japanese anime those stories are hugely wideranging in their subject matter. As peculiar or odd as Australian audiences may find it, it is not uncommon in some Japanese anime for children to be sexualised or for there to be storylines about the sexualisation of children.
Senator GRIFF: That doesn’t make it right, the fact that it is common. We have here a situation where it certainly falls under the Criminal Code. I appreciate you don’t work under that but under your own guidelines it certainly falls under that whichever way you look at that. Going back to your mention of real people versus others, I will refer to this: in 2015 an Adelaide man was convicted of possessing 361 anime classed as child pornography, and the judge held that the anime images were not a big leap to viewing child abuse materials of actual children, which in fact this person also had. I find it quite shocking that your reviewer in this particular instance hasn’t taken into account such a graphic scene.
I have some time limitations here so I’d like to move to manga , which are obviously Japanese graphic novels. A proportion have child exploitation. As you mentioned before, not all publications are submittable publications under the act. Why do you believe there’s a distinction between the different media of print and film?
Ms Anderson : Also in relation to film there is an obligation upon the film distributor to submit for classification. There’s no great distinction between publications, films and computer games. It’s on the person or company that wants to publish that film—and ‘publish’ has got a very broad definition in the classification act—to get that material classified.
Senator GRIFF: Does the board have the ability to investigate an issue on its own if a complaint comes from someone external to the organisation?
Ms Anderson : To an extent in that, for example, if I receive a complaint about a classification decision, I will obviously inquire into that and reply, and if I receive a complaint about material that is not classified then I can refer that to the classification branch. I don’t have any enforcement powers. The enforcement powers under the classification laws vest in the states and territories. That is because the classification system is a national cooperative scheme.
Senator GRIFF: So there are no penalties that you’re aware of for a publisher or distributor not submitting a submittable publication?
Ms Anderson : That’s not correct. There would be penalties that exist in the state and territory legislation regarding enforcement of classification laws, and they would vary according to each state and territory.
Senator GRIFF: Can the minister representing the minister for communications explain what action the government has taken on these issues since my written communication to the minister for communications last week highlighting this issue?
Senator Reynolds: Yes, I can. The minister is obviously aware of your letter to the Attorney-General and has seen your letter. I think it’s safe to say that the government is very aware of the issues you raise. As you’d probably be aware, the government has a review underway. As I understand it, it is led by Neville Stevens and includes consideration of national classification codes and the guidelines, including the scope of classification categories. We also do note that, in terms of what you were talking about, under the classification act currently the board is not required to apply the Commonwealth Criminal Code when making classification decisions. I think that goes to the heart of one of the two issues that you are raising. The submissions are currently being assessed by Mr Stevens. Under the terms of reference he is to provide a report to the minister next month.
Senator GRIFF: Thank you.
– Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance)
– Margaret Anderson (Director, Classification Board)
– Linda Reynolds (Liberal)
– Senate Estimates, Parliament of Australia
The first scalp
Several months later, Connie Bonaros (SA-Best) revealed she had succeeded in having manga removed from Kinokuniya’s Sydney store.
June 3, 2020
The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:32): Insidious child exploitation material comes in many different forms, all of it disgusting and sickening to the core. In this place last year, I was extremely proud that my bill banning the sale, manufacture and/or possession of childlike sex dolls in South Australia was unanimously passed by parliament. Anyone now found guilty of producing, disseminating or in possession of childlike sex dolls will face a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years.At the time, I made a commitment—reiterated an oath I made many years ago—that I would continue to do whatever I could to ensure children are protected from all forms of child exploitation, and I promise I will, as it is an extremely sensitive issue close to my heart. That commitment took me to Sydney earlier this year where shockingly I found sickening child pornography material being sold over the counter in one of that state’s most popular bookstores; indeed, one of the biggest bookstore chains in the world, the Kinokuniya bookstore, in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. What I discovered was a range of explicit animated movies and comics—and I use that term lightly—showing sexually explicit images of young girls, and connotations of incest and rape involving minors.
The disturbing child exploitation material is found in a Japanese form of animation called anime both on Blu-ray discs and in Japanese comic books, called manga. This sickening material can also be purchased online and I note that there are other sellers of the same material. The two forms of media share a unique visual style that is globally popular, especially among teens.
However, there is a sinister and sickening side to anime and manga, with a significant proportion of the two media featuring child abuse material containing depictions of wide-eyed children, usually in school uniforms, who are engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, often being sexually abused. This is referred to as hentai anime and manga, which child abuse experts warn paedophiles use as a tool to groom children.
Disturbingly, some of this child exploitation material has been reviewed and classified by the Classification Board as legal despite falling within the meaning of child abuse material under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, which makes it illegal both to sell and buy some pornographic items while other graphic materials have not been reviewed and/or classified due to disturbing loopholes in current laws.
At the time, I wrote to all state attorneys-general alerting them to the issue and requesting they take immediate action to stop the material being sold. My federal colleague, Senator Stirling Griff, also wrote to the Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, requesting the government take immediate action. I also wrote to the chairman of the Kinokuniya company in Japan, bringing his attention to the issue and requesting he remove the offending material from his stores.
To give this company some context, Kinokuniya is an influential and powerful business. It is the largest bookstore chain in Japan, has more than 100 stores in Japan and overseas and employs over 5,000 people. I was hopeful I would get some form of response, probably written by the company’s in-house counsel, telling me to mind my own business. I was wrong. I recently received a letter from Kinokuniya’s vice-president, Keijiro Mori, thanking me for drawing the company’s attention to the matter and advising it had reviewed and removed several titles from its stores and online catalogue.
Further, Mr Mori advised that the company staff had been provided with ‘updated special order guidelines to ensure that these titles are no longer available to order into the store’. I am not sure yet if those measures impact the company’s operation in Australia or globally, and I have written back to Mr Mori seeking information in that regard, but by any measure that is a significant and, may I say, very pleasing outcome.
The proof is always in the pudding and, while I congratulate Kinokuniya for taking the steps they have taken, I will continue to keep a watchful eye. As a country, of course, we still have a lot more to do. My research has found that child pornography material is still freely available in Australia, despite clearly being in breach of the definition of child abuse and exploitation material under both commonwealth law and state law and, in particular, this state’s law. Even if it is in cartoon or anime form, it is illegal.
– Connie Bonaros (SA Best)
– SA Legislative Council
Boanaros vs. Twitter
Following the speech, she took to Twitter to publicise and defend her victory.
June 3, 2020
Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
Today @SABEST_Party had a small but important victory in having child exploitation material banned with one of Sydney’s biggest bookstores – @KinokuniyaAust – agreeing to ban animated movies & “comic books” showing sexually-explicit images of young girls.June 7, 2020
Josie @jackrusseljosie
Kinokuniya doesn’t actually sell “child exploitation material” here or in Japan. I’ve been to the main store in Shinjuku, the one in Osaka and the in one in the Galeries in George street Sydney. Can you please explain what material they removed?June 8, 2020
Josie @jackrusseljosie
Personally I don’t understand why a member of the South Australian Legislative Council is policing material sold in a Sydney bookstore. I don’t understand how this helps or serves her constituents in South Australia.She actually admitted in an interview she’s doing this at the behest of Japanese lobby groups. So the idea seems to be get mainstream 15+ titles banned or restricted over here in order to put pressure on the Jpn govt to ban a fair wack of 18+ manga and anime. It’s astounding.
Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
You’ve made a whole lot of assumptions about what and why I’ve done there, Josie. My media releases and speeches have been abundantly clear. But I’m happy to answer your Qs if that helps. And yes, whether in drawing form or photo form, the material I refer to is already illegal.Josie @jackrusseljosie
If it is indeed illegal material, is anyone from Kinokuniya been charged by NSW Police or the AFP?I have a second question for you Ms Bonaros; the interview you gave to the ABC implies that your campaign against these titles is in part to help Japanese lobbyists to ban 18+ anime/manga involving under 18’s in Japan. Is this true?
Thirdly, you haven’t abundantly clear. You conflate 18+ material (hentai) with stuff aimed at teens, which has been given suitable teen ratings by government censors in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
I’m not conflating anything – with respect, you need to read our laws. If it involves the depiction of a minor or someone who could be assumed to be a minor, it is illegal. Hentai involving adult characters is not illegal if it’s not targeted at minors nor have I argued for that.Josie @jackrusseljosie
If that is the case, was anyone charged at Kinokuniya?Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
And I make no apology for meeting with and supporting lobbyists here or abroad who are advocating for change.June 9, 2020
VGSenpai @VgSenpai
Gotta love Austrilian politicians and their “no fun allowed” mindset.Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
You called depictions of little kids in sexually explicit settings fun? Wow.VGSenpai @VgSenpai
its called fiction. let fiction be fiction.Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
And here in Australia it’s called the law – sexually explicit depictions of children, in any form, including fiction, are illegal. What part of that is so hard to understand? It’s the law. A law made by our govts. I’m not pulling this stuff out of thin air.Explicitcontent NSFW (last warning) @NSFW_crafts
Child exploitation implies there’s an actual living child being exploited to make said content.Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
Here we go again. Actually, it doesn’t. Read the definition of child exploitation material in our laws.Explicitcontent NSFW (last warning) @NSFW_crafts
got a link?June 10, 2020
Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
Got more than a link, got an entire criminal code!Explicitcontent NSFW (last warning) @NSFW_crafts
drop it in. I really want to see how are they gonna condemn content as CSEM or child exploitation without an actual child involved.Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
aic.gov.au [broken link] This will save me sending you all the different links but note that since this paper was drafted laws in some jurisdictions including mine and Cwlth have been broadened even more. Magic words are different variations of ‘representations of’.Explicitcontent NSFW (last warning) @NSFW_crafts
I noticed the word “apparently”, “appears to be”, ” implied to be” and ” likely” being repeated throughout the many definition of CP of various Jurisdictions. So it’s completely subjective regarding the definition, then? Isn’t “reasonable adult” a bit vague as well?Also the fact that bars the invasion of privacy violations, there’s quite a few offense regarding “objectionable” content included in the CP offense, particularly Victoria, without the age of the victim? isn’t that a separate category of offense?
Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
– Twitter @ConnieBonaros
Herein lies part of the problem – the Classification Board monitors games and films – but they also have the ability to monitor publications like manga. When they look at content they do so thru the lense of their own legislation & ignore the criminal codes that exist.
List of manga removed from Kinokuniya Sydney
It was not a coincidence that SWORD ART ONLINE, EROMANGA SENSEI, NO GAME NO LIFE and GOBLIN SLAYER were cleared from the shelves.
They were four of the titles mentioned by Sterling Griff (Centre Alliance) in his first speech.
June 2020
Earlier this year I wrote to your Chairman and CEO, Mr Masashi Takai, raising concerns about child exploitation material being sold over the counter in the Kinokuniya bookstore in the Sydney CBD. My investigation also found other well-known retail outlets selling similar offensive material over the counter and online in Australia – and presumably overseas via the internet.The offensive and illegal material was found in a range of books featuring depictions of wide-eyed ‘children’ – childlike in stature but engaged in extremely explicit sexual activities. Some of the predominantly female characters in these books are wearing school uniforms and innocent expressions as they engage in sometimes violent sex acts with dominant characters including incest and rape.
Despite clearly being in breach of the definition of child abuse and exploitation material under both commonwealth and state law in Australia, I was horrified child pornography material is freely available in Australia. Noting the extreme level of concern both domestically and internationally about child protection and child exploitation, I asked Mr Takai to immediately remove these offensive books from sale as a matter of urgency.
You personally responded very swiftly to my concerns advising me that Kinokuniya had reviewed and removed several titles “from our shelves, as well as our online catalogue.”
Further, you advised the company will continue to monitor the titles it stocks in order to ensure their contents is appropriate. I write today to congratulate Kinokuniya on taking such decisive and immediate action, and taking a lead role in this most critical area. I also write seeking some clarification of the removal of the offending books. Specifically, can you please advise whether the titles have only been removed from sale from your only Australian store, or if the ban is broader.
If it is broader, can you please provide a list of the countries where the offending titles have been removed from sale. If possible, could you also please provide a list of the number of book titles impacted by your decisive action. Given the seemingly widespread availability for sale of this kind of illegal child exploitation material, a powerful opportunity exists for Kinokuniya to take a globally-leading role in taking a stand in tackling the scourge of global child exploitation.
Again, I congratulated Kinokuniya taking such strong and decisive action in this space. I will continue to keep a keen interest in your company. Together, we can all make a difference. I look forward to hearing from you.
– To: Keijiro Mori, Vice President Kinokuniya Company Ltd.
– From: Connie Bonaros (SA-Best)
July 2020
In response to your question, the below series have been removed from sale in the Sydney store:SWORD ART ONLINE
EROMANGA SENSEI
NO GAME NO LIFE
GOBLIN SLAYER
INSIDE MARI
DRAGONAR ACADEMY
PARALLEL PARADISEThis equates to several hundred individual titles.
We are communicating with the Australian Classification Board about this issue, to better understand what content requires submission for classification. And we are continuing to monitor titles we carry as well as new orders for sensitive material. We have shared the concern about these issues with the staff in the Sydney Store, who have responded proactively and are now tackling this issue as a team.
In terms of our action globally, wherever our stores are situated we respect local law and culture, and make ordering decisions respectively and accordingly.
We do hope this answers your question.
– To: Connie Bonaros (SA-Best)
– From: Keijiro Mori, Vice President Kinokuniya Company Ltd.
July 20, 2020
One of the world’s largest and most popular bookstore chains has removed “hundreds” of sickening and illegal child pornography books from the shelves of its Australian store following a special investigation by SA-BEST and Centre Alliance.Kinokuniya – a Japanese-based bookstore chain with more than 100 stores around the world and employing about 5000 people – has agreed to stop selling a range of explicit animated “comic books” showing sexually-explicit images of young girls and connotations of incest and rape involving minors from its book store in Sydney’s CBD.
This follows SA-BEST MLC Connie Bonaros – who recently introduced laws to ban childlike sex dolls in South Australia – writing to the company’s Chairman and CEO, Mr Masashi Takai, bringing his attention to the store’s illegal activity and requesting he remove the offending material from his stores.
Kinokuniya’s Vice President, Keijiro Mori, wrote back to Connie advising her that a number of book series had been removed from sale, which he said “equates to several hundred individual titles.”
“We are communicating with the Australian Classification Board about this issue to better understand what content requires submission for clarification,” Mr Mori wrote.
“And we are continuing to monitor titles we carry as well as new orders for sensitive material,” he wrote.
“We have shared the concern about the issue with the staff in the Sydney store who have responded proactively and are now tackling this issue as a team.
“In terms of our action globally, where our stores are situated we respect local law and culture, and make ordering decisions respectively and accordingly.”
Connie said: “I congratulate Kinokuniya on taking such strong and decisive action.
“Once I raised the issue with the company’s Chairman and CEO, it has moved expeditiously to remove the offending books from sale – books that child abuse experts warn paedophiles use as tools to groom children,” she said.
“Children have a right to be protected from all forms of child exploitation.
“If this action by Kinokuniya helps stop one child from being sexually abused, it is one child we have saved.”
The SA-BEST-Centre Alliance investigation was sparked by the revelation child pornography material – including books and blue-ray discs – was being sold widely over the counter in popular Australian retail outlets, and online.
This included some high-profile retailers in South Australia.
The investigation found that some of the child exploitation material has been reviewed and classified legal by the Classification Board – despite falling within the meaning of child abuse material under the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 which makes it illegal to both sell and buy some pornographic items – while other graphic material has not been reviewed and/or classified due to disturbing loopholes in current laws.
The investigation revealed the explicit child exploitation material is found in a Japanese form of animation called anime – both on Blue Ray discs and in Japanese “comic books” called manga.
The two forms of media share a unique visual style that is globally popular – especially among teens.
However, there is a sinister and sickening side to anime and manga with a significant proportion of the two media featuring child abuse material containing images of wide-eyed depictions of children – usually in school uniform – who are engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, often being sexually abused.
This is referred to as “hentai” anime and manga which paedophiles are known to use as a tool to groom children.
At the time, SA-BEST-Centre Alliance demanded urgent action by the Federal Government to ensure laws banning such child exploitation material are properly enforced.
-Hundreds of “child porn” books removed from major bookstore chain after SA-BEST-Centre Alliance special investigation
– SA-Best
July 20, 2020
– Connie Bonaros @ConnieBonaros
I congratulate Kinokuniya on taking such strong and decisive action. If this action helps stop one child from being sexually abused, it is one child we have saved.
Together, we can all make a difference. @KinokuniyaAus
– twitter.com
Banned manga
In July 2020, three volumes of the Yen Press NO GAME NO LIFE light novels were banned.
All had been submitted by Stirling Griff’s Centre Alliance.
Full Classification Board reports were obtained by Alex Walker at Kotaku. They are reproduced below and are followed by his comments and links to the original article.
Volume 1 – RC
NO GAME NO LIFE VOLUME 1 (April 2015), 164-pages.
July 23, 2020
– Classification Board
Pubs 1(b): The publication is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Publications Table, 1. (b) as publications that “describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).”
July 23, 2020
The publication contains an eight-page colour section that contains stylised illustrations of the narrative’s characters as well as a list of contents. This colour section does not contain folio numbers and is inserted at the start of the publication so that it is accessed immediately if the front cover is opened. Pages 2 and 3 of that colour section contain a double-page illustrated depiction of two female characters, Stephanie, who is described on page 21 as a red-headed girl “who looked to be in her mid-teens” but is later (on page 160) said to be 18, and Shiro, who is identified throughout the publication (for example, on pages 4 and 160) as being 11 years-old.The image depicts Stephanie and Shiro in a bath scene. Both are nude, with strands of hair, puffs of steam and stylised drops of water (which cover both their bodies) partially obscuring breast and genital detail. Stephanie, pictured on the left-hand page, kneels behind Shiro at the edge of a large bath, holding a long strand of Shiro’s hair. She is drawn as a voluptuous adult woman, with exaggerated breasts and hips. She addresses Sora, the male protagonist of the narrative, in a rectangular speech bubble, which reads, “- Sora… why do I have to be naked and washing Shiro’s hair?”
Shiro, pictured on the right-hand page, leans back at the edge of the bath. Her undeveloped chest is covered with strands of her long white hair, but her legs are parted and lifted in a sexualised manner. Her right foot and drops of water partially obscure her genitals, although the outline of her buttocks and vulva are visible. Her left foot is lifted higher, as she implicitly pulls a strand of her hair between her toes. In a stark contrast to the depiction of Stephanie, Shiro is drawn with the flat-chest, thin arms and narrow hips suggestive of pre-adolescent development. She is, in the Board’s opinion, clearly depicted as a child under 18 years of age. She also addresses Sora in a rectangular speech bubble, which reads, “… Nggh… Brother, I hate you.”
– Classification Board report
August 20, 2020
– Why The Australian Classification Board Banned Three No Game, No Life Novels
The report on the first volume says the scene “is later given narrative context in the body of the novel”, but the context “does not mitigate the impact of the depiction, especially having regard to its placement at the very front of the publication”.
– article @ kotaku.com.au
Volume 2- RC
NO GAME NO LIFE VOLUME 2 (July 2015), 183-pages.
July 23, 2020
– Classification Board
Pubs 1(b): The publication is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Publications Table, 1. (b) as publications that “describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).”
August 20, 2020
The Classification Board took a similarly dim view of the eight-page colour section at the front, with the novel’s assertion of Stephanie as a six-thousand-year old member of the Flügel species not a sufficient enough explanation…The second volume didn’t contain the same amount of narrative justification or context as the first volume, and certainly not enough to get around the depiction of a minor in a sexual manner.
– Why The Australian Classification Board Banned Three No Game, No Life Novels
– article @ kotaku.com.au
July 23. 2020
Pages 6 and 7 of that colour section contain a double-page illustrated depiction of three female characters, Stephanie, who is described on page 23 as a girl “in her late teens”, Jibril, a member of the Flügel species who is described as being over six-thousand-years old on page 156, and Shiro, who is described on page 21 as being eleven-years old. The image depicts a scene in the book, described on pages 75-78, in which Stephanie, Shiro and Jiro’s clothing disappears during a game of shiritori. Jibril, who is partially visible in the background, is pictured with large bare breasts. Although no nipple detail is depicted, the outline of one of her breasts depicts the contours of a nipple.Stephanie is pictured in the foreground of the right-hand page, fully nude with her hands covering her large breasts and her genital region featuring no detail. Shiro, pictured on the left-hand page, is depicted from behind, leaning forward slightly and looking over her shoulder. She is nude, with the exception of thigh-high stockings. While her pose obscures her chest from view, which the contour of her partially turned body implies is underdeveloped, her buttocks are pushed outward and some labial detail is depicted.
The illustration is accompanied by text from the scene being illustrated, including: “There can be no doubt that this is appropriate for all ages! Healthy and wholesome! Tasteful erotic! But not obscene! For this is – what I shall henceforth name: the Great Wholesomeness Space!” Within the context of the scene, the three girls’ vulvas have disappeared as a result of the game of shiratori prior to their clothing disappearing, causing Sora to comment that the nudity is not “R-18” as there are “no genitals”.
Despite the context provided within the novel, the colour, shading and line employed in the illustration of Shiro strongly resembles labial detail which, combined with her pose, positioning on the page and framing which bring visual focus to her buttocks and genital region, is depicted in a manner which sexualises the character. She is, in the Board’s opinion, clearly depicted as a child under 18 years of age and the subsequent narrative context does not mitigate the initial impact of the depiction, especially having regard to its placement at the very front of the publication, where it exists as a standalone illustration that is likely to attract the attention of anyone who opens the publication’s front cover.
– Classification Board report
Volume 9 – RC
NO GAME NO LIFE VOLUME 9 (October 2019), 231-pages.
July 23, 2020
– Classification Board
Pubs 1(a)&(b): The publication is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Publications Table, 1. (a) as publications that “describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified,” and
(b) “describe or depict in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not).”
August 20, 2020
– Why The Australian Classification Board Banned Three No Game, No Life Novels
The volume featured more sexual depictions as well, along with Sora in a simulated scene where robots are trying to convince Sora to “reproduce with them in order to save their species from extinction”:
– article @ kotaku.com.au
July 23, 2020
The publication contains a stylised black and white illustration which can be found on page 62, illustrating a scene described on pages 60 and 61. The illustration features three young girls dressed in school uniforms and wearing school backpacks. The girl in the foreground is depicted with a large bow in her hair, the zip on the side of her skirt undone, causing her skirt to hang loosely around her hips, exposing her abdomen as she lifts up her shirt. One of the girls in the background, characterised by a braid in her hair and an underdeveloped chest, is depicted bending forward in the act of pulling down her underwear. Her bare pubic region is visible between her arm and skirt. Another girl is viewed in the lower left corner of the page, depicted from behind. The girl’s skirt is partially visible around her thighs, exposing her buttocks. Some vulva detail is depicted.Within the context of the scene described in pages preceding the image, the girls are robots which are thousands of years old and are simulating a number of scenarios with the aim of appealing to Sora and convincing him to reproduce with them in order to save their species from extinction. In the context of the scene, the robots choose to simulate a teacher-student scenario in which the robots are in the role of the students and Sora is in the role of a teacher. The girls proceed to say, “Teacher’s thing belongs to me!” and, “Um, Teacher? When I think about you, I start to feel all funny…down here.” The girls are described as appearing “…as small as Shiro-or even smaller-who we are certainly not saying were elementary school-aged.”
When Sora is outraged by the scene unfolding around him, the robots ask him, “Don’t you know all characters depicted are age eighteen or over?!”
In the Board’s opinion, this highly sexualised depiction, particularly that of the girl removing her underwear, contains an aspect of fetishisation of a person under the age of 18 which lacks narrative and contextual justification and depicts a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 as well as matters of sex in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.
– Classification Board report
Defending their decision
Kinokuniya Sydney responded to the criticism on Twitter.
The critique of their explanation by Ethnic Weeb is reproduced below.
July 23, 2020
Shizu @BepDelta
They removed sao, fucking sao [Sword Art Online], it doesn’t get more generic than that.
@KinokuniyaAust @KinokuniyaUSA @Kinokuniya
Please, stop this nonsense.July 24, 2020
Kinokuniya Sydney @KinokuniyaAust
Thank you so much for your feedback regarding the reports about Manga removal in our store.
We appreciate your frustration regarding this and would like to explain our position further, please read below:We completely understand your concern based on the belief that Kinokuniya has ‘caved’ to the demands of some politicians and become censors, but please know it is not the case, nor that simple.
When these titles were brought to the attention of the Classification Board, by some politicians, it fell to them to decide if the titles needed to be officially submitted for classification, before we are allowed to sell them.
This determination is based on whether the titles contain depictions or descriptions that may be found to cause offence to some.
July 26, 2020
Ethnic Weeb @Ebicentre
The explanation in this thread is full of misinformation in order to confuse non-Aussies. I’ll explain each tweet as best as I understand it as a non-lawyer Australian.July 24, 2020
Kinokuniya Sydney @KinokuniyaAus
As we import them into Australia to sell them to you, we are considered to be responsible for ensuring that they are submitted to the Board, but in order to have them classified we would need to pay a fee for each title, the cost of which made the process price prohibitive for us.July 26, 2020
Ethnic Weeb @Ebicentre
This is misdirection. They are trying to absolve Connie Bonaros and the SA-BEST Party of their responsibility for attacking Japanese media.Classification can be very expensive, yes, but that is exactly why BOOKS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THE ACB. There are millions of books in the world and it would be physically impossible to go through every library and reclassify every title.
July 24, 2020
Kinokuniya Sydney @KinokuniyaAus
The Board – who have actually been very supportive in guiding us through the process – indicated that some of the titles would likely be fine for unrestricted sale, others might have restrictions apply, and very few would be refused classification.However they would need to go through the official process for these determinations to be made.
Should the titles receive official classification, we would be more than happy to put them back on our shelves and offer them for sale again.
July 26, 2020
Ethnic Weeb @Ebicentre
Arse-kissing aside, this ignores the fact there are anime adaptations of the banned books that are still available for sale in Australia; the ACB is ALREADY O.K. with them. Other storefronts based in Australia are also still selling the books (Madman).When Griff spoke in front of Parliament, Madman & JB HI-FI made it a point to hide their stock of targeted materials to avoid government pressure. Yet they’re still selling the banned works – and to their benefit, because they’re literally selling out now (the Streisand Effect).
July 24, 2020
Kinokuniya Sydney @KinokuniyaAus
Ideally the publishers would submit them to The Board for classification, which would allow all book and comic stores in Australia to sell them without fear that they are breaking the law.July 26, 2020
Ethnic Weeb @Ebicentre
So when Kinokuniya says publishers should IDEALLY go through the ACB, that means THEY DON’T ACTUALLY NEED TO. Because if it WAS required, then police would’ve already pressed charges against all the businesses supposedly in violation of government policy.July 24, 2020
Kinokuniya Sydney @KinokuniyaAus
So please don’t think that we have just bowed to political pressure, we have actually acted as the law requires. No more, no less.July 26, 2020
Ethnic Weeb @Ebicentre
This is such a pathetic scapegoat; ‘We didn’t bow to blatantly obvious political pressure, it’s the GOVERNMENT’s fault we’re the only storefront to ban these books still being sold at places like Madman’. Own up to your cowardice and stop being pushovers.Credit goes to @Hero_Hei for bringing this to my attention, because as someone who has been following the attacks on anime since the beginning of 2020 and has submitted letters to the ACB, I can openly state that Kinokuniya is not being honest with ignorant non-Aussies.
– Twitter @Ebicentre
Back for round two
In March, Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance) had received a crash-course on how the Australian classification system works. In October, following his success with NO GAME NO LIFE, he was back in Senate estimates for more.
The Acting Director of the Classification Board revealed she has written to those who handle manga in Australia and told them their obligations concerning submittable publications. This explains why Simon & Schuster Australia received a Category 1 rating for DON’T BE CRUEL: AKIRA TAKANASHI’S STORY (2017) on October 21.
She went on to confirm that rather than get them rated, Booktopia.com.au had removed titles that were considered submittable.
October 22, 2020
Senator GRIFF: Ms Ryan, you advised Senator Van there were 3,065 decisions. They were effectively items that were sent for classification. Is that correct?Ms Ryan: That’s correct, yes.
Senator GRIFF: You mentioned 22 publications. Is that correct?
Ms Ryan: Yes, that’s correct.
Senator GRIFF: Could you specify on notice what the classifications were that you issued for those publications?
Ms Ryan: Absolutely. That information will be in our annual report, but I’m happy to provide that to you.
Senator GRIFF: Thanks. In relation to publications, is 22 an unusually low number or is it similar to what you would normally have each year?
Ms Ryan: I’d say it has been declining. I’ve got figures in front of me for the last five years for the number of publications that the board has classified. As I said, this year it’s 22; last year it was 28; in the 2017-18 financial year, it was 22; in 2016-17, it was 36; and, in 2015-16, it was 76. So there has been a decline absolutely.
Senator GRIFF: The numbers are very similar. On 23 July this year, three classification certificates were issued for certain volumes of the animated light novel series NO GAME NO LIFE. These books were refused classification meaning that their sale, obviously, is an offence for their highly sexualised depictions lacking narrative and contextual justification. Since this refused classification decision was made, what steps have you taken to ensure that the rest of the series, and others like it, are submitted for classification?
Ms Ryan: As you’re alluding to, historically, manga publications haven’t been submitted to the board for classification. I think that there are some issues in terms of the definition of what a submittable publication is under the act. Essentially, the applicant is required to determine whether an application is submittable, and that is predicated on them being aware of this legislation and knowing that they have to submit it. Historically, the majority of the types of publications that the board has dealt with have been adult content magazines rather than books. As I said, we’ve had a decline in those over the past few years.
In response to the issues that have been raised with the board about manga and Japanese light novels, since assuming the role of acting director, I’ve written to major distributors, publishers and retailers of manga in Australia advising them of their obligations in relation to submittable publications under the act and advising them of the range of titles that the board has done a preliminary assessment of in order to form an opinion as to whether they were submittable publications or not. I’ve also asked them to review the remainder of their catalogue of this type of material to assess whether or not it should be submitted for classification and whether it meets the definition of being a submittable publication.
Senator GRIFF: So you haven’t taken it upon yourself to look at the remainder of the series? You’re waiting for them, effectively, to submit it?
Ms Ryan: My focus initially has been on educating people about their obligations in the first instance. I think that’s in line with good regulatory practice given that, historically, this type of material has not been submitted for classification. We’ve seen some preliminary results in response to that correspondence whereby a number of major publishers and retailers of material have removed the material from sale, particularly in relation to the titles that we were talking about. Some have taken a step further and reviewed their catalogues. Others have just taken down from sale the titles that we had done a preliminary assessment of. So there’s absolutely more work to be done, and I will continue to try to educate people about what they need to do. In the event that that does not result in the kind of response that we’re hoping for, then as acting director, I have powers to call in submittable publications.
Senator GRIFF: The ones that you already have actually dealt with are still available for purchase in Australia through sites such as thenile.com.au. And Booktopia, for example, refuses to remove from sale books that would be submittable publications except volumes that have been refused classification. Does it concern you that banned books are, in fact, still available for purchase in Australia?
Ms Ryan: Booktopia has advised us that they are removing those titles from sale. I have correspondence from them advising that. I’m not familiar with thenile.com.au and I haven’t communicated with them. It absolutely bothers me that there are publications out there that may be refused classification that have not been submitted. I think the board has a role to play; I think the Commonwealth and the states and territories, under the National Classification Scheme, have a role to play; and I think industry has a role to play.
Senator GRIFF: What are the penalties if you sell a submittable publication?
Ms Ryan: I think that those are offences under state and territory legislation. I would have to take that on notice and get that information to you.
Senator GRIFF: I’d appreciate that. My understanding is it’s a 12-month imprisonment term or 250 penalty units under state acts which, in fact, underpin the National Classification Scheme, which is obviously not causing any issues for those that are continuing to sell these items. Chair, I’ll put the reminder of mine on notice.
– Stirling Griff (Centre Alliance)
– Sally Ryan (Acting Director, Classification Board)
– Senate estimates, Parliament of Australia
Dropped from Australian online stores
A search of two online bookstores on 31 October 2020 showed them to be stocking the following.
Booktopia.com.au
NO GAME NO LIFE Vol. 2 (Manga Edition).
NO GAME NO LIFE Vol. 3, 4, 6, 10 (light novel).
NO GAME NO LIFE, PLEASE! Vol. 3.
TheNile.com.au
NO GAME NO LIFE Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
NO GAME NO LIFE Vol. 2 (Manga Edition).
NO GAME NO LIFE Vol. 7, 8, 9, 10 (light novel).
NO GAME NO LIFE, PLEASE! Vol. 3 and 4.
Neither were stocking the three volumes that had been Refused Classification.
A recheck of both retailers in March 2021 showed that all the above titles were no longer available.