On Seat Mates Who Read Girlie Magazines

Never have I woken up and wished to be seated next to a man reading porn on a train.  Evidently, and I'm learning this the hard way, not wishing for something specific has nothing to do with the universe and it's ... sense of humor? ...

As in, just because you don't want it doesn't mean you won't get it.

My seat mate is reading porn.  A girlie magazine.  There are photos.  There are cartoon descriptions of kinkiness. 

Porn in your bedroom?  Fine. 
Porn in public?  On the train?  Next to me?  Not fine. 

Do I say something? 
What would I say? 
"Is that interesting?"
"Do you have a hard-on?"
"How much does a magazine like this cost?"
"What's the attraction?"  Scratch that.  I'd have to add "other than the obvious" and dumb questions usually get dumb answers.

Do I get to say something?
Just because in my world it's in poor taste to look at naked women on a crowded train does not mean it is in Japan.  Whose morals rule in such a case?  Japan is not my country.  He's Japanese, I'm a foreigner.  Japanese social norms trump my definition of public decency.  Right?  Really?

What if I read it with him?  Is that being passive-aggressive?  If that were the case, would that be so bad? 

What if I--oh, I'm so sorry--spill coffee on his magazine when I reach for the cup from the young food-selling woman?  Is that kind of passive-aggressive behavior better?  It's certainly less passive and more aggressive.

What if I break the rules and make a phone call in Japanese right here, right now?  I'm supposed to go stand on the deck to take or make calls.  Sorry.  Dumb foreigner.  I don't know the rules.  Do I dare?  Then again, if he knew I could read what he was reading would that change his mind?  Would he care?

So far I have no answers.  Perhaps by the time he gets through to the end I'll have thought up some witty and biting comment that may or may not make him think.  I'm open for suggestions.

Child Pornography in Japan

A funny thing, blogging.  I know of a handful of people who read these posts, but the rest of you are completely unknown.  I know how many in which country read any one post on any one day.  I don't know you individually, and we'll likely never meet.  All of this fascinates me. 

As do the keywords you type in to search for the blogs you're wanting to read.  The most heavily read blog post of mine is the one I wrote about pornography on the train.  This entry has shown up when you've googled "porn in Japan" and "porn on trains" and "Japan and porn" and other such combinations.  I take it a good number of you all around the world are interested in, fascinated by, and/or mortified by what Japan allows as art.  You want to know about pornography in Japan?  Let me tell you then.  Today I will focus on child pornography, because herein lies Japan's most foul rationale about art versus porn.  Today, here again, I simply can't make this shit up.

The laws are clear:  In Japan, you can own child pornography.  You can't make it, ship it, or sell it, but you can own it.  Read that again.  You can't make, sell, or distribute child pornography porn but you can own it.  This begs the obvious question where does one buy it?  It's not supposed to be sold.  It can't be made so it can't be shipped so it can't be sold.  Except that in one survey, 20% of Japanese state, at one point or another they've owned child pornography.  Where do they buy it if it's not available?  Really. 

Part of the problem lies in Japan's definition of child pornography.  Simply put, children participating in a sexual act is considered child pornography.  Which means half-naked or naked images are not.  Which also means anything that's a cartoon, manga, is not.  I find this highly disturbing.  It also, unfortunately, answers the question on where one would buy this.  Any convenience store will have an "adult" section marked but visible and available to anyone who wants to stand there and read through the selection.  It's not illegal to sell these magazines because they don't portray images defined as child pornography.  Lolita on the cover?  Not porn.  It's not real.  Presumably this is where a lot of people buy this "art."  (I don't have enough sarcasm in me to express my disgust further.)

The "artists" who draw these images take this whole child pornography question to another level.  They are adamant if it's in cartoon form, even rape, sodomy, forced oral sex, gang rape, torture, beatings of children--it's all "art."  By their definition, this means it's not real so it's not pornography.  If you've seen any such cartoon imagery, mark my words it will make you sick to your stomach--that kicked in the gut, bile in the back of your throat, "I'm about to puke" feeling--it lingers.

Say what you will about "two consenting adults" who allow themselves to be filmed.  Naked women in magazines (gay sex is still very much a taboo here) do it because they want the money and, hey, they're smiling!  Surely, all must be good.  I don't and won't know the truth behind the Japanese sex industry.  I don't want to.  Bring kids into this and I'm out for blood.

Just so you know, last time I checked, you can bring Japanese child pornography into your country if you're Russian, but in most other countries possession of child pornography (even the "art" kind) is illegal.  Careful what you buy at the airport and in town.  This shit will get you arrested.

Then again, it should.