A Japanese manga artist has taken CNN to task for its recent coverage of the 2006 eroge RapeLay.
In an open letter to CNN, Takeshi Nogami lambasted the media network for its coverage of the issue. The response was due to a follow-up article that had been published to explain the cultural situation in Japan that allowed such a game to exist. RapeLay, a pornographic game allowing the protagonist to assault, rape, and even impregnate a mother and her two daughters awoke a great deal of outrage in the West. As Japan has no laws against such content, the furor over the game came solely from Western groups.
In his letter, Nogami accused CNN of attempting to stir up “fear, prejudice and misunderstanding.” “As a Japanese citizen, I am deeply offended by the insulting implications of that so-called expert who associates Japanese people at large with heinous criminals,” Nogami said.
Japan has far lower rates of violent crime and rape than the US, a fact Nogami capitalized on in his response.”As this objection had to be put together promptly, precise data will be presented later, but it is a fact that in this 21st century, we Japanese enjoy one of the most safe and peaceful societies on Earth. Naturally, that is not to say that our society is without problems, but to be honest, I frankly do not think that you are the ones to tell us,” Nogami said.
Nogami went on to state that while pornographic material can be damaging to children, games such as RapeLay were intended for adult audiences, and that the reason Western children were getting their hands on such games was due to piracy and ineffective game rating standards.
“Would it be too much to ask that appropriate age restrictions are put in place in stores in your country so that the rational adults can buy legitimate copies?” Nogami said.
Harsh words indeed. CNN has not issued any response to the letter, but it looks like this controversy might be sticking around for a bit longer.
Source: 1UP
Published: Apr 5, 2010 10:22 pm