How far does Japanese censorship law go?
<p>Japan has some really strange censorship laws, where porn or other pornographic material needs to be censored at all times.</p>

<p>However, there are uncensored versions of Black Bible available. Apparantly, it's because the original studio licensed it to an American distributor, who in turn could release it outside of Japan uncensored.</p>

<p>This leads to the question: is the actual <strong>creation</strong> of porn and pornographic material legal as long as it's not distributed? The original creators had to draw the genitalia themselves before they blurred it after all.</p>

<p>I'm just curious to know how that works. Does that mean Japanese studios are fine as long as they don't release their stuff uncensored in Japan? Let's say I wanted to hire a Japanese studio to create a hentai for me (cause I'm super rich and I can do that, apparantly), would they get in trouble for it, even though they themselves wont release it in Japan (and neither will I)?</p>

<p>The relevant law, <a href="http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?ft=2&amp;re=02&amp;dn=1&amp;yo=penal%20code&amp;x=0&amp;y=0&amp;ky=&amp;page=1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Article 175 of the Criminal Code</a>, says</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A person who distributes, sells or displays in public an obscene
  document, drawing or other objects shall be punished by imprisonment
  with work for not more than 2 years, a fine of not more than 2,500,000
  yen or a petty fine. The same shall apply to a person who possesses
  the same for the purpose of sale.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Hence production is not illegal. </p>

japan