Only 20% of child porn sites taken down despite urging of watchdog body

Japan Today
Friday 04th July, 01:37 PM JST
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/only-20-of-child-porn-sites-taken-down-despite-urging-of-watchdog-body

TOKYO — Only 20% of 1,600 detected child pornography sites were taken down from the Internet in 2007 despite the urging of a Tokyo-based watchdog for harmful sites, the body said Friday.

As the Internet Hotline Center Japan is not authorized to enforce deletions or issue requests for such action to foreign servers, cross-border exchanges of pornographic images continue.

The center detected 1,609 child porn sites last year, based mainly on tip-offs, and urged the taking down of 526 whose servers are located in Japan. However, only 339 accepted the request.

The center is under the control of the Internet Association of Japan, an incorporated foundation which is entrusted by the National Police Agency with monitoring harmful Internet sites.

The contents of the detected sites included naked images of children and violent acts against them, and they are believed to have been shot in Japan as well as abroad, it said.

Among the Group of Eight nations, Japan and Russia have no legislation to prohibit possession of child pornography.

Domestically, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party has submitted a bill to the Diet to revise the law banning child prostitution and pornography in order to criminalize possession of such pornographic materials.

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