Why is Japan less harsh on convicted sex offenders than America?

[Zauriel]

Recently I started reading a manga called Toriko created and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. I became addicted to it. I find it very amazing and entertaining. When I started looking for info on Toriko manga, I saw some interesting info on wikipedia. Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, the one who created Toriko was was arrested and convicted of violating child prostitution laws in 2002, including paying a 16-year-old girl ¥80,000 to have sex. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Only two years? However, the sentence was suspended, so I do not think he went to prison. He should have been banned from working in the manga industry again, but the publisher allowed him to work on a new manga called "Ring" in 2004, two years after his arrest and conviction. his previous manga Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi! was cancelled for a short time as a result of his conviction but resumed publication in 2005.

Shimabukuro also returned to work for Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2008 with Toriko. It became one of the magazine's top sellers, with over 25 million copies in circulation, and was nominated for the 2nd Manga Taishō award in 2009. Toriko was adapted into an anime television series by Toei Animation that aired from 2011–2014 before the manga ended in November 2016. The manga was released in North America by Viz Media and the anime by Funimation. I wonder if the American fans knew of his crimes?

Even though everyone was aware of his crime and conviction, the publisher still employed him, the public still bought his manga. and several manga artists including Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, did not sever ties with him. In 2011, Oda and Shimabukuro created the Toriko and One Piece crossover one-shot Taste of the Devil Fruit.

when Jared Fogle was convicted of doing the same thing as the manga artist did, the Subway fired him, his wife divorced him and he got a much longer sentence than the manga artist who only got a senence of only two years in prison which was suspended .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsutoshi_Shimabukuro

There is another manga artist who committed a similar crime. His name was Nobuhiro Watsuki. He was the one who created Rurouni Kenshin. He was arrested and convicted of child pornography but was fined ¥200,000 on February 2018. Only a fine and no jail time for the guy who possessed illegal porn? The serialization of Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc was put on hiatus after the details of Watsuki's charges were made public. But the Hokkaido Arc resumed serialization in June 2018, only four months after his conviction. Are the people still buying his manga even after his crime was made public?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuhi...graphy_charges

[Kirby101]

They are different cultures and different countries. Might as well ask why America still has the death penalty or criminalizes drug addictio.
Why do some States allow girls as young as 12 to get married?

[Zauriel]

They are different cultures and different countries. Might as well ask why America still has the death penalty or criminalizes drug addictio.
Why do some States allow girls as young as 12 to get married?

Yeah, I couldn't figure out why are these guys allowed to continue working in the manga industry despite their sex crimes or why the people are still buying these guys' manga works despite their arrest and conviction. I do understand that Japanese culture is different from the Western culture. Japanese perspective isn't influenced by Judeo-Christian values.

However, to my knowledge, no state in the USA allows an age of consent lower than 16. Japan also has the death penalty and criminalizes drug addiction.

[Kirby101]

https://worldpopulationreview.com/st...e-age-by-state

[Crazy Diamond]

Recently I started reading a manga called Toriko created and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. I became addicted to it. I find it very amazing and entertaining. When I started looking for info on Toriko manga, I saw some interesting info on wikipedia. Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro, the one who created Toriko was was arrested and convicted of violating child prostitution laws in 2002, including paying a 16-year-old girl ¥80,000 to have sex. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Only two years? However, the sentence was suspended, so I do not think he went to prison. He should have been banned from working in the manga industry again, but the publisher allowed him to work on a new manga called "Ring" in 2004, two years after his arrest and conviction. his previous manga Seikimatsu Leader Den Takeshi! was cancelled for a short time as a result of his conviction but resumed publication in 2005.

Shimabukuro also returned to work for Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2008 with Toriko. It became one of the magazine's top sellers, with over 25 million copies in circulation, and was nominated for the 2nd Manga Taishō award in 2009. Toriko was adapted into an anime television series by Toei Animation that aired from 2011–2014 before the manga ended in November 2016. The manga was released in North America by Viz Media and the anime by Funimation. I wonder if the American fans knew of his crimes?

Even though everyone was aware of his crime and conviction, the publisher still employed him, the public still bought his manga. and several manga artists including Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, did not sever ties with him. In 2011, Oda and Shimabukuro created the Toriko and One Piece crossover one-shot Taste of the Devil Fruit.

when Jared Fogle was convicted of doing the same thing as the manga artist did, the Subway fired him, his wife divorced him and he got a much longer sentence than the manga artist who only got a senence of only two years in prison which was suspended .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsutoshi_Shimabukuro

There is another manga artist who committed a similar crime. His name was Nobuhiro Watsuki. He was the one who created Rurouni Kenshin. He was arrested and convicted of child pornography but was fined ¥200,000 on February 2018. Only a fine and no jail time for the guy who possessed illegal porn? The serialization of Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc was put on hiatus after the details of Watsuki's charges were made public. But the Hokkaido Arc resumed serialization in June 2018, only four months after his conviction. Are the people still buying his manga even after his crime was made public?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuhi...graphy_charges

Do you have data to back this up? Both men were fairly famous and could afford good lawyers to get lenient sentences. What's the conviction rate in Japan for sex offenders compared to the United States?

[Zauriel]

Do you have data to back this up? Both men were fairly famous and could afford good lawyers to get lenient sentences. What's the conviction rate in Japan for sex offenders compared to the United States?

EDIT: You are correct. If either of the two artists was a plain nobody, they would get a much harsher sentence and would lose their jobs. An ordinary Joe doesn't get the same leniency as a manga artist. Manga artists get more respect in Japan than Comic book artists in America

But American government and society treats their citizens equally, regardless of their wealth. Everyone gets their punishment equally, whether they are rich or poor.

Jared Fogle was rich and famous. Very famous since he appeared in Subway commercials until his arrest. He received a much harsher sentence for a similar sex crime than Toriko manga artist who was sentenced to only two years in prison. By the way his sentence was suspended. Another difference between the two offenders is Jared Fogle lost his job with Subway, his marriage, and his fanbase and was spurned by the society, while the Toriko creator was allowed to keep his job in the publishing company. He also retains the respect of his peers and the admiration of his fans. He still receives honors and prestigious awards for his manga works. Fans knew about his sex crimes but they continued to adore him and buy his manga despite the knowledge of his crimes.

I used to watch Fogle Subway commercials until his arrest.

[babyblob]

EDIT: You are correct. If either of the two artists was a plain nobody, they would get a much harsher sentence and would lose their jobs. An ordinary Joe doesn't get the same leniency as a manga artist. Manga artists get more respect in Japan than Comic book artists in America

But American government and society treats their citizens equally, regardless of their wealth. Everyone gets their punishment equally, whether they are rich or poor.

Jared Fogle was rich and famous. Very famous since he appeared in Subway commercials until his arrest. He received a much harsher sentence for a similar sex crime than Toriko manga artist who was sentenced to only two years in prison. By the way his sentence was suspended. Another difference between the two offenders is Jared Fogle lost his job with Subway, his marriage, and his fanbase and was spurned by the society, while the Toriko creator was allowed to keep his job in the publishing company. He also retains the respect of his peers and the admiration of his fans. He still receives honors and prestigious awards for his manga works. Fans knew about his sex crimes but they continued to adore him and buy his manga despite the knowledge of his crimes.

I used to watch Fogle Subway commercials until his arrest.

I have no idea what America you are watching when it comes to Crime and Punishment. How long to get Harvey W on trial? Bill Crosby never faces serious legal actions. R Kelly took years, OJ walked on a double Murder charge, Rebecca Gayheart hit and killed a 5 year old child and walked away with a fine, Matthew Broderick killed two people and walked away with a 200 buck fine and no jail time. Trump is still walking around and free as a bird, And I am sure there are much more examples.

Jared Fogle a tv pitch man for a sub shop is not the same as one of the celebrities people know and love. Ask the average person who Fogle is they wont know. Ask who Bill Cosby is and they can tell you all about him.

Even if you are not rich you have a better chance with the legal system as long as you are not born a certain color.

[ed2962]

For some reason I think of "Gunsmith Cats"...I have a few of the Americanized reprints. But before I got them I read an article that explained that in the original Japanese version, a main character is a teenager in a relationship with an adult and she's taking medication to stay looking young, but in the American version, the dialogue is changed so that she's an adult taking the medication so that she can look her true age...

[Zauriel]

I have no idea what America you are watching when it comes to Crime and Punishment. How long to get Harvey W on trial? Bill Crosby never faces serious legal actions. R Kelly took years, OJ walked on a double Murder charge, Rebecca Gayheart hit and killed a 5 year old child and walked away with a fine, Matthew Broderick killed two people and walked away with a 200 buck fine and no jail time. Trump is still walking around and free as a bird, And I am sure there are much more examples.


Even if you are not rich you have a better chance with the legal system as long as you are not born a certain color.

Bill Cosby may have got a lenient sentence, but unlike the two manga artists, his reputation was ruined and tarnished. When the news of his sexual allegations broke out, he was stripped of most of the honors and awards. His honorary degrees were rescinded. Numerous institutions, colleges, universities, businesses, and broadcast networks have severed ties with Cosby as a result of the allegations. Broadcast networks stopped re-running the Cosby Show and took it off the air.

In November 2014, colleges and universities with ties to Cosby began removing their affiliations with him. The University of Massachusetts Amherst, one of Cosby's alma maters, asked Cosby to step down as an honorary co-chairman of the university's fundraising campaign. The Berklee College of Music, which had previously awarded Cosby with an honorary degree, got rid of a scholarship that it offered in Cosby's name. High Point University in North Carolina also pulled Cosby from its advisory board, and Freed–Hardeman University rescinded its invitation for Cosby to appear at an annual dinner in December.

Many academic institutions have rescinded honorary degrees they awarded to Cosby. Fordham University rescinded Cosby's honorary degree, making it the university's first in history. Honorary degrees to Bill Cosby from Marquette University, the University of San Francisco, Brown University, Baylor University, Lehigh University, Goucher College, Tufts University,Franklin & Marshall College, Amherst College, Springfield College,[353] Muhlenberg College,Drexel University, Bryant University, The University of Pittsburgh,Drew University, California State University, City University of New York, Swarthmore College, Boston University, Occidental College, Oberlin College, Haverford College, University of Pennsylvania, Wilkes University, and Yale University were also rescinded.

On November 18, 2014, Netflix postponed a Cosby stand-up comedy special after accusations surfaced that Cosby had sexually assaulted Janice Dickinson in 1982.

Reruns of The Cosby Show and other shows associated with Cosby have also been cancelled. On November 19, 2014, TV Land and NBC both ended their relationships with Cosby: TV Land announced that it was pulling reruns from its schedule and removing clips of the show from its website, while NBC scrapped its plans to develop a brand new sitcom starring Cosby. In December 2014, the Magic Johnson-owned Aspire removed the two series I Spy and The Bill Cosby Show from its lineup. In July 2015, broadcast network Bounce TV pulled reruns, and BET's Centric (another Viacom unit) ceased airing reruns. The show still is available on Hulu Plus. Although the series returned to Bounce TV in December 2016, the series was pulled from the network again in April 2018 following Cosby's guilty verdict.


Yet in contrast to how the society in America treated Bill Cosby, the Toriko creator and the Rurouni Kenshin creator received different treatment from Japanese society. Both manga artists who were convicted of those sex crimes are not only allowed to keep their jobs and continue making new manga after their conviction. They still receive honors and awards and are allowed to keep their awards.

Despite the Toriko creator's conviction, Toriko manga not only sold over 25 million copies in circulation and also was made into an anime. Toriko is popular among fans. Which meant that the people did not care at all that he paid a 16-year old girl money to have sex with him.

Rurouni Kenshin creator's new manga was put on hiatus following his arrest and the child porn charges against him but resumed publication four months after his conviction. His manga was still selling well despite his crimes.

[babyblob]

Ok ya hit me with Cosby. Cool. have no idea based on that how America doesnt care about the rich and treats everyone equal.

[Zauriel]

Ok ya hit me with Cosby. Cool. have no idea based on that how America doesnt care about the rich and treats everyone equal.

Yeah, there is an US comic book artist named Justiniano who used to draw for DC comics until he was arrested for child porn. DC comics cancelled his Wonder Woman book as a result of his arrest. He never found work in the comics industry again when he was released from prison.

I usually don't separate art from his life but i find Toriko very good to read so I will make this an exception. I will read his manga on the net but I refuse to buy it.

If you haven't read Toriko yet and separate his art from his life, would you like to try reading the manga?

[babyblob]

Yeah, there is an US comic book artist named Justiniano who used to draw for DC comics until he was arrested for child porn. DC comics cancelled his Wonder Woman book as a result of his arrest. He never found work in the comics industry again when he was released from prison.

I usually don't separate art from his life but i find Toriko very good to read so I will make this an exception. I will read his manga on the net but I refuse to buy it.

If you haven't read Toriko yet and separate his art from his life, would you like to try reading the manga?

But it aint just about comic books. Look at most of the celebs in this country. Who have either staked on charges or there is a lot of suspicion and accusations and nothing happens to them.

Watson just got 230 Mil and that is with what 22 accusations and law suits? Jared Letto is still making movies. Come on man. America treats the rich and the poor the same. Come on.

[Starter Set]

But American government and society treats their citizens equally

Oh my god.

That's cause of little nuggets like that i love this forum.

[Catlady in training]

I agree with Babyblob. USA, or the entire western world in general has only started to do something about rich abusers when MeToo started, and it is still not enough. Polanski may not be able to come back to USA, but he can still work overseas and he still gets credit for his movies. Woody Allen is still free and shooting movies. We don't have much of a moral highground to stand on yet.

[CSTowle]

A few things. 1. One of the reasons I have a hard time dipping more than a toe into the manga/anime world is that it frequently normalizes sexualization of girls anywhere from their mid-teens to adolescence. It's not across the board, but if it were happening at that rate in American superhero comics we'd be talking about it a heck of a lot more. 2. Jared Fogle was targeting children. I hate to defend any kind of pedophilia, but the manga artist targeting 15-16 year olds is a far different animal than Fogle talking about flying to Thailand to buy pre-pubescent children. 3. The US has a few things that distinguish it from other parts of the world. First, our puritanical attitudes toward sex in general (though Japan and their danged pixels might have some issues as well). Second, for all of the beatings we give ourselves over our backwardness we are pretty advanced in many ways compared to the average country and part of the impact of that is an extended childhood, education, and later adulthood with less expectation that a woman is going to get married right away and begin having children (or doing either of those things, if she doesn't want to). 18 isn't a magical number, but it's what we've settled on as a society. I guarantee a large number of women (and men) are walking around out there without the emotional maturity to be having sex or children even in their mid-'20s, and there are probably some 16 year olds who would be fine with both. But 18 is the decided societal age for an adult, so adults need to be content with that.

I'd like to think we're very protective of our children, but I can't imagine there's a society where that isn't the case. And sadly, as the last few decades have taught us, there's no society or class level or any other grouping where pedophilia is less likely to occur. Just ones where those secrets are kept better than in others. I'd also sadly have to agree (it's almost undeniable) that if you're an offender of any type having resources and connections means it's far less likely you will ever pay for your crimes than the average citizen.