Sentence passed as final appeal is dismissed in the Shobunkan trial

In the Shobunkan case, where the obscenity of manga works was contested for the first time, the First Petty Bench of the Supreme Court arrived at the decision to dismiss a final appeal on June 14. Consequently, the Tokyo High Court will settle on a fine of 1.5 million yen to be levied against Mr. Motonori Kishi, the President of Shobunkan.

According to this ruling, which the Supreme Court mailed to President Kishi on the same day, it was deemed, upon referring to precedents, that the 175th penal code did not violate the 13th and 21st articles of the Constitution and did not therefore merit any grounds for an appeal. Furthermore, regarding the sentence passed by the Tokyo High Court, the Supreme Court gave its support, claiming that it was legitimate.

It was deemed in 2002 that the manga titled "Misshitsu" (Closed Room) fell under the description of obscene drawings as stated in the 175th penal code. This evaluation prompted the authorities to arrest the artist of the manga, and the President and the managing editor of Shobunkan, the publisher of the work.

While the artist and managing editor were summarily sentenced with a fine, President Kishi was prosecuted while remaining under arrest. Even the mass media followed the case with interest as it was the first such case to deal with the issue of obscenity in manga works, with well-known experts appearing in court to offer testimony, such as the sociologist, Mr. Shinji Miyadai, the psychiatrist, Mr. Tamaki Saito, and the criminologist, Mr. Hisashi Sonoda. They offered testimony in such issues as "the argument for the needlessness of the 175th article," "the zoning sales of obscene materials," and "the argument against the theory that sexual media provokes criminal behavior."

The first sentence passed in January 2004 handed down the punishment of one year in hard labor with three years of probation, while the second sentence, passed in June 2005, mitigated the punishment to a fine of 1.5 million yen. However, the first and second sentences both maintained that "Misshitsu" fell under the description of obscene materials and for this reason the case made by the defense was rejected.


*Some of the book titles are tentative translations.
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