Manga translator loses child porn cartoon appeal

A translator of Japanese manga comics has been fined by a Swedish appeals court after drawings saved on his computer were considered to be child pornography. According to the Svea Court of Appeals, Simon Lundstorm was fined SEK 5,600 (USD 864) as 39 cartoons found on his hard drive violated Swedish child protection laws.

Although the material has not been made public, the 27 year-old manga expert argued at a sentencing in June that the pictures could not be considered harmful as, unlike child pornography, they do not portray real children. He added that the images that were seized during a police search of his home circulate freely in Japan.

As well as themes of literary classics and high school romances, manga graphic novels also deal with pornography, some of it violent and hardcore. Despite industry complaints about censorship, Tokyo restricted the sale of comics and animated films depicting rape and other sex crimes in December last year. It is now forbidden for under-18s to buy or rent materials that depict sexual acts in exaggerated or glorified ways.