The manga and anime have been cultural icons not only of Japan, but also of a segment of the population that has found a refuge in their works and animated series, as well as a place where they can explore new and fascinating stories where the variety of topics they cover are very peculiar. That is where their charm lies, because the Japanese culture does not hesitate to show us stories where the resources they use range from the most classic fantasy, to gore, psychology, violence, human condition and the most dreamlike comedy.
A perfect and very attractive combination for those looking for a new story that moves them, because who among us has not hooked on a manga or anime for such stories and resources, something that Western animation and even Hollywood do not touch in such a graceful and wonderful way (with some honorable exceptions) either out of fear, censorship or simply by whim of an audience that is not ready for such works. But this creative freedom that manga and anime enjoy could be affected in the very near future, according to one of the industry’s references.
Mangaka Ken Akamatsu talks about how freedom of expression in manga is in jeopardy
In a recent interview, the mangaka and now congressman Ken Akamatsu, author of the successful series “Love Hina”, has expressed his concern about the future of freedom of expression in Japan and more particularly in the manga industry, because he considers that there is an external pressure that is achieving some restrictions on freedom of expression: “Incidents like last year’s, in which international women’s organizations have complained about advertisements in the industry, we can say that we are in a moment in which the pressure on the restrictions on freedom of expression also comes from outside, so we have to take measures to face this threat.”
A situation that has forced the mangaka to look for objectives for the protection of freedom of expression in manga by political means and that has inspired him to take actions in this political field, with his recent election to be part of the Japanese congress: “Currently, there is a very low possibility that legislation restricting freedom of expression will be passed at the national level. However, if international agreements are passed on this matter, national legislation will have to be changed to adapt it to the agreement, so we must avoid this scenario from happening.”
As we can read, congressman Akamatsu is very clear that Japan no longer lives in the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate where Japan isolated itself from the world for almost 3 centuries and that current external political movements (feminism) can bring undesirable consequences of the freedom of expression of the eastern country, so he has set to work so that from his trench in the congress of Japan he defends such a valuable legacy of the modern world and of an industry that has fallen in love with us for the virtue and fearlessness of showing us more complex and mature themes.
This is undoubtedly a very interesting point of view, because recently we have seen that many political groups in Japan have opted to take pressure measures to censor content related to the anime and manga industry, some with more and less success, but it is a pending issue that congressman Akamatsu has very much in mind.
