Nerd Mentality

Debate over game violence boils over in Japan
Osaka Prefecture becomes third area in Japan to join the ban on "violent" video games to minors; retailers irked by GTA3 ban in Kanagawa.

According to a report in the Mainichi Daily News last week, the Osaka Prefectual Government is planning to ban violent-game sales to minors that could start in September. Violent games will be labeled as harmful publications and an obstruction to its regulation of providing youths a "wholesome growing environment."

A final decision will be made on the matter when it's discussed amongst Osaka Prefecture assembly members in September.

The Osaka government claims the ban is necessary after a 17-year-old boy went on a stabbing spree in February at a local Neyagawa, Osaka prefecture area elementary school, fatally wounding a teacher, and injuring two other school employees.

A former classmate of the boy said he was obsessed with violent games involving killing people and once had aspirations of moving to Tokyo to work for a game company or write for a gaming magazine. Psychiatrists deemed him mentally competent to stand trial in March, according to a Kyodo News Report.

Osaka Prefecture also plans to create its own rating system in conjunction with the game industry that could potentially join or replace Japan's own game-rating system run by the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO), a non-profit organization. CERO rates and labels games sold to retailers with a suggested age range.

Osaka Prefecture, the second-most populated area after Tokyo, has become the third prefecture to announce its plan of banning violent video games to minors. Previously, the prefecture of Kanagawa created controversy after it announced it would ban the sale of Grand Theft Auto III to minors, nearby Saitama Prefecture also announced it would consider a similar ban.

Following game publishers in Japan, representatives of specialty stores in the country are also expressing their discontent with Kanagawa prefecture's decision to ban the sales of Capcom's GTA3 to minors. The region, located immediately south of Tokyo, has started fining stores up to 300,000 yen ($2,776) if they are found selling the game to children under the age of 18. This marks the first time that a game has been designated as a harmful publication in Japan.

Kanagawa prefecture held a meeting on Friday to notify the issue to gaming and electronics stores that are operating in the local region. The government outlined the ordinance for the GTA3 age restriction and gave examples of how the game should be separated from other non-restricted games on store shelves.

The prefecture argued that the game's glorification of violence and murder, its graphical expression of cruelty and gore, and the ability to exercise murder and other cruel activities in a "realistic" environment warranted a tight restriction on its sales.

Game retailers were quick to question the illogical explanation of singling out GTA3. When retailers complained about the ambiguity of the ordinance and asked representatives of Kanagawa as to why GTA3 was banned while Grand Theft Auto: Vice City--GTA3's sequel which has just as much violence and features a similar setting--has been left untouched, the local government evaded giving an explanation.

"The reason explained by the prefecture fits in with a lot of games. It's irrational for them to just ban [Grand Theft Auto III]. We're going to have a lot of trouble trying to explain this to our customers," one participating retailer said.

"We need to explain to our customers why the game was banned. We wanted the government to clearly explain their standards, but they were avoiding it," said an operation division chief at Commonwealth Entertainment, a game chain store located in 20 areas throughout Kanagawa.

This is not the first time that opacity in Kanagawa prefecture's decision to ban GTA3 was pointed out. Capcom, the game's Japanese publisher, previously released a statement that criticized Kanagawa for not clearly defining its standards, commenting that it can cause issues in the freedom of expression in future games. Capcom also stated that it is considering taking legal action on the matter. The company has recently announced that it will also publish Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in Japan this fall. However, it hasn't decided on a release platform for the game yet.

For retailers that participated in the meeting, Kanagawa government's lack of explanation was only one of the things they were displeased with. While Kanagawa had prepared a room to accommodate 200 participants, only 16 people showed up to the meeting. Representatives for the Japanese retailers blamed the local government's lack of consideration towards retailers for the small turnout, commenting that, "We have also sent notices to our participants, but with the meeting taking place in the morning of a weekday, there were stores that couldn't open up their schedule. The prefecture should have sent notices earlier."

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Yet they can make films like Battle Royale-a movie about children killing each other, and not to mention,a lot of Japanese videogames and anime *cough*resident evil*cough* are often violent, and actually more ****ed up than American stuff (hentai of people have intercourse with dead bodies? )

They just hate it becuase its American.
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beta_fuse

Banning violoent videogames in Japan will never happen and we all know it.

It'll never happen in America either. I know a couple parents who LET my friend grope a girl's lower pelvis area in the pool while they were sitting there watching (And din't do any...unfortunately...First of all, I was too stunned to do any pelvis grabbing; Second of all I'm black and the girl was white...and I live in the deep south...so ya know...). If anything, if they DID ban vilolent games here OR in Japan. Parents would probably buy MORE as a form of defiance.
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MetalMadness

They just hate it becuase its American.

Bingo. Nintendo gets the "hate everything we didn't come up with" quirk from their mother country.
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Aidan_702

Basically they're saying that a game for over eighteens can no longer be sold to under eighteens.

Kinda, y'know, makes sense.

Yea, but what what you're missing is that Metal Madness is an idiot. He either didn't bother to read the article he posted, or doesn't have the ability to comprehend it. Rather he chose to just hate on the Japanese as his method of "going against the grain."

Also while GTA is very much American in context, wasn't it developed in England, where Rockstar is located. And even here GTA was singled out from other violent games, so this isn't really a surprise.

It makes plenty of sense to make sure that games not made for minors stay out of their hands.
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Ronin

Yea, but what what you're missing is that Metal Madness is an idiot. He either didn't bother to read the article he posted, or doesn't have the ability to comprehend it. Rather he chose to just hate on the Japanese as his method of "going against the grain."

Also while GTA is very much American in context, wasn't it developed in England, where Rockstar is located. And even here GTA was singled out from other violent games, so this isn't really a surprise.

It makes plenty of sense to make sure that games not made for minors stay out of their hands.

He just disses anime because he knows anime freaks are very senstive about there stuff. He knows how to pull everyone's buttons.
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MetalMadness

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Yet they can make films like Battle Royale-a movie about children killing each other, and not to mention,a lot of Japanese videogames and anime *cough*resident evil*cough* are often violent, and actually more ****ed up than American stuff (hentai of people have intercourse with dead bodies? )

They just hate it becuase its American.

yah serioulsy. Just hentai tells you that they are perverts. But here to they have porn.
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NintenJoeDS

isnt this the same japan that made comics for childeren in which people were torn apart, sliced in half, blown up, cut up, hacked up and brutily mutilated?
...

But see, isn't it amazing, after all this violence. Japan has an extremely low crime rate? And people wonder why Republicans/conservatives are so dumb...

Yeah, that's right, I said something politicly incorrect.
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And people wonder why Republicans/conservatives are so dumb...

Yeah, that's right, I said something politicly incorrect.

No, just stupid. Politically incorrect is stuff like nuke the Japs, women: get back in the kitchen, hispanics: go back to Mexico, etc.

Robjomak

No, just stupid. Politically incorrect is stuff like nuke the Japs, women: get back in the kitchen, hispanics: go back to Mexico, etc.

Oh yeah, that's right. Republicans go back to your trailers and stop trying to violate my rights!
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Oh yeah, that's right. Republicans go back to your trailers and stop trying to violate my rights!

How is that politically incorrect? The media defines politically incorrect and they say that stuff all the time.

And din't do any...unfortunately...First of all, I was too stunned to do any pelvis grabbing; Second of all I'm black and the girl was white...and I live in the deep south...so ya know

inbred redneck

We gone have ourselves a picnic lets go pick that nigga for a lynching. If he can not keep his hands to himself lets cure that problem permanently.

Smart move. You would probably have been drown right then and there if you were lucky. I thought Japan had stricter laws on violence in Games in that blood had to be green or that anyone killed had to be a zombie or something.
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NintenJoeDS

isnt this the same japan that made comics for childeren in which people were torn apart, sliced in half, blown up, cut up, hacked up and brutily mutilated?

...

I don't think that was meant for children though. I mean, there have been mangas (I'm sure) that have been specifically made for children but....

Those comics were really made for children? Hmmmm...


Anyway, I don't see a problem with this. The government is taking action in taking away video games from being sold to minors. No biggie, because America is trying the same thing. :/
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But really, this whole thread is stupid. Japan is messed up anyway (but not as much as America with Bush in command, AM I RITE,

Well, considering the Japanese women can sell their used underwear to be put into vending machines where dudes can then buy them, but at the same time we don't have anything NEAR as bad as that in America. They must be doing SOMETHING to get such a low crimerate while at the same time having so many kids exposed such violence and porn. I mean, in the US, there's a man that's molested 3 THOUSAND children since the 1970's. In Japan, it probably makes national news if any child is molested! So I think we should use Japan as a model for our society. At least when it comes to behavior and porn/violence banning.


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bleeper

I thought Japan had stricter laws on violence in Games in that blood had to be green or that anyone killed had to be a zombie or something.

please tell me which one of your dumb friends told you this.

SuperCube

I don't think that was meant for children though. I mean, there have been mangas (I'm sure) that have been specifically made for children but....

Those comics were really made for children? Hmmmm...

You'd be amazed at what gets included in manga aimed at young people. The ones aimed at children usually aren't too violent*, but the manga aimed at 12+ year olds can include scenes that woud never get past a censor in the West.

Well.... that depends on what age group hunterXhunter is aimed at.....
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DayLahs

please tell me which one of your dumb friends told you this.

That guy who always confuses germany with japan SOMEHOW.

Game Guru

Well, considering the Japanese women can sell their used underwear to be put into vending machines where dudes can then buy them, but at the same time we don't have anything NEAR as bad as that in America. They must be doing SOMETHING to get such a low crimerate while at the same time having so many kids exposed such violence and porn. I mean, in the US, there's a man that's molested 3 THOUSAND children since the 1970's. In Japan, it probably makes national news if any child is molested! So I think we should use Japan as a model for our society. At least when it comes to behavior and porn/violence banning.

It's just their culture. They've got so much repressed **** inside that half of them are probably clinically disturbed by medical standards.
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Suicide: Japan's Growing Nightmare

Japan's suicide numbers have topped the 30,000 mark annually

http://www.theforeigner-japan.com/archives/200304/news.htm
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DanMo

http://www.theforeigner-japan.com/archives/200304/news.htm

Heh, that's better than killing someone else. In my opinion, Japan is just flat out a better country than America (and no Pojo it's not just because of Bush). Japanese culture is simply more acceptant of the body than American culture. Therefore they aren't nearly as disturbed as American children are. I think American parents should stop trying to sheild their children from this stuff. And just tell them everthing there is to know, that way, they won't have a lust to know everthing there is about the opposite sex. And also, to being lazy and know what your kids are doing.
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Advance

Why? Because you're a pervert?

Well, by American standards, most kids in Japan are pervs. But they're not rapists either. Wich is worse? American culture is self destructive. In the 50's, parents were bitching about Lil' Richard and...other people I can't think of. As a form of defiance, teens listened to it anyway! In the 60's it was the Beetles. Parents bitched. Teens listened anyway. In the 70's, it was Elvis. Parents bitched. Teens listened anyway. By the 70's, being bad was COOL, and artists needed to be badder to be cool. Then the 80's and cable came, and you know the rest.

Maybe if parents just listened to the music and didn't bitch about how ugly and different it sounded, and listened to the words, we wouldn't be trying to repair our society today. Cause I'm telling you, the words in rock and rap are alot worse than what existed in the 50's and 60's.


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please tell me which one of your dumb friends told you this.

I think i read it in the Guiness Book of records.
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Game Guru

Heh, that's better than killing someone else. In my opinion, Japan is just flat out a better country than America (and no Pojo it's not just because of Bush). Japanese culture is simply more acceptant of the body than American culture. Therefore they aren't nearly as disturbed as American children are. I think American parents should stop trying to sheild their children from this stuff. And just tell them everthing there is to know, that way, they won't have a lust to know everthing there is about the opposite sex. And also, to being lazy and know what your kids are doing.

Are you retarded? Japan really isn't any better than the US. Don't look at how many smart people they have as anything. That's just because of how strict the schooling has to be. With such little land prices are insanely high in the city and that's where most of the jobs are. So if you don't do good in school there's really no chance of you going anywhere in life. In the US, you can drop out of high school and still end up rich. Japan has lots of suicide problems, with a lot of them being youths, because of the crazy school process. Lots of teens go to cram school just to prepare for this SAT like test they have. I saw a video about this kid who had spent 6 years going to cram school and each year then taking the test and failing it and then going back to cram school. He would get up at 2:30 am to deliver newspapers and then go to cram school all morning after work and then go back to another job after school and then back to his 3 by 4 foot cubicle he called a home.

Anyways, you say that the Japanese have better views on body and self acceptance than in the US? You're wrong, by far. Japanese are more conservative than we are. It's the old argument that Nudists have, how children are born naked and are naked as kids and that it shouldn't ever have to change. It doesn't work. England shows more nudity on regular TV than in the US (ie, boobies!), and yet in London I saw 20 times more phone sex and porn ads than I have ever seen in New York. Porn is going to be a big thing no matter what, until you job off the balls of every little boy born you'll have porn (that's a rhyme).

Saying Japan is a flat out better country than the US shows you really don't know what you're talking about. Japan actually sucks in a lot of ways. I'd truly hate to live there, let alone have been raised there. Don't just look a video games and anime and the quirkyness of their widescreen vision and think "Hay, Japan's where it's at! They're smarter, faster, more compact, f*ck the US I'm going to da land of da rising sun brotha!". Do some research and find out why all these people are killing themselves. It's because, JAPAN IS A SH*TTY PLACE TO LIVE! Hah, no seriously, Japan has a lot of redeeming qualities but it's not at all better than the US. I'd say they're neck and neck. When we crouch down that is.

I still want to visit on vacation though. There is no better place to buy awesome little action figure trinkets and such.

SuperCube

As if america doesn't have it's many bad sides?

That was not his point!
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SuperCube

As if america doesn't have it's many bad sides?

Did I say that? Nope, I said:

Dragon164z

Japan really isn't any better than the US.

No sh*t America has it's many bad sides, but this dude was playing it off as Japan was utopia.

Game Guru

Well, by American standards, most kids in Japan are pervs. But they're not rapists either. Wich is worse? American culture is self destructive. In the 50's, parents were bitching about Lil' Richard and...other people I can't think of. As a form of defiance, teens listened to it anyway! In the 60's it was the Beetles. Parents bitched. Teens listened anyway. In the 70's, it was Elvis. Parents bitched. Teens listened anyway. By the 70's, being bad was COOL, and artists needed to be badder to be cool. Then the 80's and cable came, and you know the rest.

Maybe if parents just listened to the music and didn't bitch about how ugly and different it sounded, and listened to the words, we wouldn't be trying to repair our society today. Cause I'm telling you, the words in rock and rap are alot worse than what existed in the 50's and 60's.

You realize that the reason Japan doesn't have counterculture is because it's superconformist? That women still are primarily wives and children are subject to the father? That the company is placed on a plane equal to, not below, the family? That government is democratic only in name but primarily a collusion between the existing parties? That Japan tried to take over the world 50 years ago?

I'd say that the grass is always greener, but about the only thing Japan has that we don't is super high-tech toilets.
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Dragon164z

Did I say that? Nope, I said:



No sh*t America has it's many bad sides, but this dude was playing it off as Japan was utopia.

I know what you said, man. It's just that you forgot the to actually compare the two instead of just posting one country's bad sides. You seemed biased in it.

Oh well, that's over. I don't care.
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That Japan tried to take over the world 50 years ago?

Heh, it's funny how nowadays Japan is probably the US's staunchest, most complacent ally of relevance. I can't help but think that they, like Canada, are just biding their time and being nice to the US for now, and are really one of those countries quietly plotting another take over the world scheme, - the difference is Japan has the balls to try (again).

Advance

You realize that the reason Japan doesn't have counterculture is because it's superconformist? That women still are primarily wives and children are subject to the father? That the company is placed on a plane equal to, not below, the family? That government is democratic only in name but primarily a collusion between the existing parties? That Japan tried to take over the world 50 years ago?

And? I'll let you know when I become a woman and care. My point is, I'm sick of hearing of people getting shot over stupid stuff, and children getting raped all the time. Joe Scarborugh on MSNBC a few days back said he wouldn't let his childen out alone on the street to play because he'd be afraid of them getting stolen. That's insane that we have to do that nowdays. I'm sick and tired of being responsible for countries that can't defend themselves and take care of problems in their own region and don't have the maturity to work stuff out. (Bush and Iraq, the Muslim countries didn't do **** about Afganistan, and I'm tired of Isreal too, dammit! Work it out with the Palistinians!) I'd like to live in Japan because frankly it's not their problem. The only other country they have to worry about is N. Korea. The point is I'm proud to be American, but I"m starting to get sick of it now.
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Game Guru

I'm sick and tired of being responsible for countries that can't defend themselves and take care of problems in their own region and don't have the maturity to work stuff out.

How are you at all responsible for any other countries? Have you served in the army? Have you been to these other countries and gone through trouble because of them?

You seriously sound like a hypocritical ignorant moron from all your posts in this thread. If you honestly think Japan is so much of a better place to live than the US, just move there. Bitching about the US and how much better Japan is when you have no intention of moving is retarded.

Dragon164z

How are you at all responsible for any other countries? Have you served in the army? Have you been to these other countries and gone through trouble because of them?

You seriously sound like a hypocritical ignorant moron from all your posts in this thread. If you honestly think Japan is so much of a better place to live than the US, just move there. Bitching about the US and how much better Japan is when you have no intention of moving is retarded.

you finally got your first taste of the idiot named "game guru".

I cant think of how many times he's been proven wrong in a thread.

NintenJoeDS

thats probably because they're kids are forced to wear uniforms and have no summer vacation

Actually uniforms are more of a fashion trend.....
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Dragon164z

How are you at all responsible for any other countries? Have you served in the army? Have you been to these other countries and gone through trouble because of them?

Well, my parents do pay taxes to fund the war. And my parents buy stuff for me, so yes.

I have to say, I'm not looking forward to paying taxes for this useless and uneffective "War on Terror". What we've done so far in this theoretical war has done nothing to protect you or I. How many illegal immigrants get through these boarders every year? Thousands. I don't know about you, but to me that's just stupid. I could run a more effective "War on Terror" by buying a fairly recent real time strategy game. I don't care about spreading democracy when I'm not safe.

And I would move to Japan, if their women were more appealing and their education system wasn't as harsh (I want my kids to have a life). I don't feel like learning Japanese either. But other than that, Japan in my opinion, is the place to be.
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I have to say, I'm not looking forward to paying taxes for this useless and uneffective "War on Terror".

You're a liberal. No one is expecting you to actually pay taxes or contribute to society in any way, don't worry.

And I would move to Japan, if their women were more appealing and their education system wasn't as harsh (I want my kids to have a life). I don't feel like learning Japanese either. But other than that, Japan in my opinion, is the place to be.

And the cost of living wasnt twice what it is here and you could actually afford it.