Japan To Regulate Internet, Unifies Telecoms And Business Laws

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Japan is set to regulate the Internet by integrating current laws concerning information, telecommunications and broadcasting.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications unveiled Thursday its plan to submit a bill to the regular Diet session in 2010 aimed at unifying the Telecommunications Business Law, the Broadcast Law and other relevant laws.

The move is aimed at paving the way for the government to regulate the contents on the Internet, the Mainichi Daily reported.

The new legal measures, for example, could affect the distribution of newspaper articles on the Internet.

According to a government survey, 90 percent said that "harmful materials" on the Internet should be regulated. The current child pornography laws in Japan do not regulate manga and art that depict children who are not real, or "virtual child pornography."

The opinion poll showed that 86.5 percent of respondents wanted manga (comics) and illustrations should be subject to regulation for child pornography.

Respondents said comics and other materials promote the sexual objectification of minors and sexual crimes against minors, as well as the view that they should be regulated in the same way as photography, DVDs, and other materials that depict actual children.