Perspectives

Freedom of expression should take precedence over righteousness of one's values

Tamaki Saito (Mainichi)

For the first time in a while, there has been a fierce debate over freedom of expression. Based on a report by the Office for Youth Affairs and Public Safety, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government submitted a draft revision of the youth welfare ordinance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

The proposed amendment seeks to tighten controls on child pornography depicting children and youth under age 18, including restrictions on sexual portrayals of "virtual" youth, i.e. characters in manga, anime, or video games, and to establish regulations on the possession of such images and illustrations.

Many manga artists, intellectuals and members of the publishing industry have voiced strong objections to the bill, arguing that such a law constitutes a violation of freedom of expression. As a result, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and Tokyo Seikatsusha Network members of the Metropolitan Assembly have decided to continue deliberations, agreeing that more time is needed before a decision can be made.

I have been deeply concerned with this issue, and would like to clarify my position. I do not find child pornography -- including those in manga form -- acceptable, and such types of materials that involve victims are heinous forms of child abuse -- nothing but despicable crimes.

However, when it comes to "non-existent" or "virtual" youth, as long as the harmfulness of such materials has not been verified, freedom of expression should take precedence. Restrictions and zoning measures that are currently in place sufficiently keep pornographic expression away from youth. Any additional "revisions" to the current rules would be unnecessary.

That said, if my child were reading an adult magazine, there is no question that I would take it away, and if I spotted questionable sites in our computer's browser history, I would install filtering software. But neither contradicts my abovementioned view. Such acts of disciplining or parenting are precious opportunities to pass on one's values to one's children. I don't need a law to back me up.

Those who are advocating more stringent regulations believe that as long as we provide sound environments for our children, they will grow up unconstrained to be upstanding citizens without any additional help. But is that true?

The book "NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children," which was published in the U.S. last year, has captured widespread attention. Most surprisingly, what the book's author Po Bronson tells us is that the way that we approach educating our children about race is flawed at the most fundamental level.

We tend to think that explicit racism hardly exists anymore in society today, that children grow up in diverse environments in which people of various races mingle together, and that in such environments, they naturally learn how to get along with other races. Thus, we rationalize, we adults should not talk to our children about the color of people's skin. Better to let sleeping dogs lie.

According to studies conducted by Bronson, however, only 8 percent of white high school students have close friends of another race. Furthermore, the more racially diverse a student population, the more racially segregated they tend to be. Some 75 percent of white parents do not talk about race with their children. And while attitudes toward race become more difficult to alter after third grade, many parents don't feel all right talking to their children about race until after they're past that age.

In other words, if adults avoid talking about race, children are free to grow up to be upstanding racists.

I believe Bronson's findings have a universality that goes beyond race and parenting. Even if a child is provided with a "morally appropriate" environment in which to live, certain morals will not be naturally instilled in them. Unless adults try purposely to teach certain values, moral traditions -- which can include things like not discriminating against others, not committing violence, and respecting freedom of expression -- can be easily lost.

Because of the noble efforts of our forebears, at least in industrialized nations, we are increasingly able to enjoy unprecedented freedom and equality. As such, freedom and equality are no longer burning issues for us. We take diversity and freedom of expression for granted, like we do the air around us.

This, however, does not mean that everyone will come to believe in and uphold freedom and equality as a matter of course. Such values will not become "common" sense in any generation unless adults repeatedly teach the righteousness of those values to their children.

Sexual violence in the media, too, is not a matter that will resolve itself if we could just find a way not to expose our children to it. Simply tweaking the environment through law amendments will not promote the healthy growth of children. Laws and environments do not raise people; people do. And it is when this piece of common sense fades away that moral traditions will die out. (By Tamaki Saito, psychiatrist)

Click here for the original Japanese story