Mainichi Tries to Bribe “Lolita” Mangaka Into Silence

• Author: Artefact
• Categories: Manga, News
• Date: Jun 25, 2008 08:12 JST


• Tags: Censorship, Mangaka, Mass Media, SDF
  

The mangaka defunct rag WaiWai branded a paedophile, over his using a tastefully dressed girl character (above) to illustrate an official manga version of an otherwise dry defence white paper, has shot back at Mainichi, demanding a public apology, only to be told that he can expect an under the table settlement, but under no circumstances must he write about it on his blog.

でこくーる / decocool wrote about it on his blog, revealing the details of the interchange in full.

If you’re not familiar with the piece in question you can read it below. Here is the gist of what he has to say:

“Aren’t you going to publically apologise to the Ministry of Defence, or the Mutual Association? Incidentally, what about an apology to the hentai mangaka in question, me!”

“And why on earth would the MoD need a loli character to fish for otaku? Think about it carefully…”

“That character was one I ended up using to illustrate the series by chance, as the MoD asked me to make it more of a readable manga than a simple pamphlet.”

“Finally, they called me back. ‘What sort of difficulty did we cause you? If somehow we did cause you problems, we can attempt to sincerely make amends with a settlement, but don’t write a word about it in your blog!’ I was told.”

He goes on to say how he is rather more concerned over the handling of the affair overall than his being defamed, particularly with the various calumnies heaped upon the MoD in the article (“From the successor of the government ministry that gave the world Pearl Harbor and the Rape of Nanking”, etc.); he would rather they apologise publically than quietly try to make good his damages.

Such is his reasoning behind making the matter public rather than accepting the cash stuffed envelope otherwise awaiting him; actually the settlement in a messy public case would surely be larger if present, but I digress…

He signs off saying: “I’m sorry, but this is just such good material I had to get it off my chest.” Indeed.

Presumably Mainichi will now have to publically address the issue, especially considering how active this issue is on 2ch.

Here is the scurrilous defamatory piece published by WaiWai, now reproduced more widely than ever thanks to having been pulled along with the rest of the gutter rag:

“Defense Ministry turns to ‘Lolita’ manga character to reveal inner self”

From the successor of the government ministry that gave the world Pearl Harbor and the Rape of Nanking now comes a cutesy little girl cartoon character dressed as a maid with a hawkish stuffed teddy bear to give a simple explanation of Japan’s defense policies, according to Cyzo (August).
Growing numbers of government agencies have used borderline pedophile manga characters to promote their activities in recent years, but it’s the Defense Ministry’s little girl character that is attracting attention among Japan’s otaku, the monthly says.

In the “Manga de Yomu Boeisho Hakusho (Defense Ministry White Papers in Manga)” series printed in 2005, a little girl wearing “Lolita” fashions and an apron is involved in exchanges — sometimes violently — with a hawkish stuffed teddy bear as they rumble over the way Japan should defend itself.

News of the story spread through Japan’s Internet and by word of mouth and turned the manga into a hit, with second and third editions hitting the bookstores rapidly. It seemed a given that the publisher, Japan Defense Foundation for Mutual Aid, would be given the contract to print last year’s manga version of the ministry’s white papers, but things didn’t quite turn out that way.

“Publishing rights are decided in public bidding and another company undercut us,” a spokesman from the Japan Defense Foundation for Mutual Aid tells Cyzo. “But it was such a popular book that we didn’t want its success to end after only a single year. We asked the same author of the 2005 edition to draw up another manga using the same characters in a way that would help readers to understand what’s going on with the defense of Japan.”

The new book “Heiwa no Kuni no Nebaarando (The Neverland of the Peaceful Country)” has also proved to be as popular as its predecessor, with sales going well since its January release.

Japan Defense Foundation for Mutual Aid is confident its cutesy manga characters can drum up plenty of support for an industry that revolves around defending people.

“It’s pretty serious contents,” a group spokesman tells Cyzo. “But we figure the manga characters are easy to relate to and will make the difficult issues more accessible for kids and young adults to understand.” (By Ryann Connell)