TOKYO — The chief editor of manga magazine Comic Mega Store and two others were arrested today for allegedly distributing obscene images in two magazine both marked with 18+ labels.
Police said that the magazines' explicit content had "insufficient censoring" and that its operators were in violation of Article 175 of Japan's criminal code, which makes distribution of obscene pictures and writing a crime with imprisonment for no more than two years.
The three suspects are accused of selling Comic Mega Store magazine, with its sex scenes between males and females, and Nyan 2 Club, a magazine for reader-submitted adult photographs, according to Jiji.com.
Akira Ota, the editor who runs parent publisher Core Magazine, and one other suspect denied the charges, saying, "We didn't think they were obscene." The third suspect admitted to the charges.
Both magazines, with a combined circulation of 60,000, make minimal use of mosaic censoring over certain areas. Core Magazine has revenue of 17 million yen (about $170,000) in monthly sales.
