Amazon’s Tokyo headquarters and a nearby distribution center were raided last week by Japanese officials investigating the possible sales of child pornography.
Amazon’s Japan office told Bloomberg it was “fully cooperating” with the police. The raids, which were conducted on Friday, were seeking evidence that Amazon’s website was used by sellers to sell child pornography, including photo books of underaged girls.
Update: In response to an inquiry by GeekWire, a spokesman from Amazon Japan, said: “We take this investigation seriously and we are cooperating fully with the authorities. We don’t permit illegal items on our site, and we have systems and processes designed to prevent and remove illegal items from being listed. We are committed to enforcing our policies and the law for items listed on our site.”
Amazon prohibits the sale of illegal products, however, it appears that the laws are a bit murky in Japan when it comes to a so-called “junior idol industry,” which includes photos and DVDs of scantily clad pre-pubescent girls. Last year, Japan banned the possession of child pornography, but the law didn’t include any mention of the “idol” industry, Bloomberg reports. This probe may suggest that this is starting to change.
Besides Amazon, other retailers found selling idol materials include Rakuten and Yahoo Japan.
