▶Committee Decision #10

Warning statement on the display of child nudity, especially male children’s genitals

Among the opinions that are sent to BPO, critical opinions on “the display of nudity or genitals of male children” have been increasing rapidly year after year. The number of cases was 6 in 2005, 18 in 2006, and rose to 42 by 2007.

The following are examples of such critical opinions: “A news program that was covering a story on a training camp for elementary school children showed images of 6th grade boys bathing naked, exposing their genitals. The images were broadcast without any processing or pixelation. If these images were to be uploaded on some Internet site, how will the broadcaster take responsibility?” “A comedian was shown bathing with his 6-year-old and 11-year-old sons whose genitals were visible on screen. My son, who is the same age as this comedian’s older child said, “He’s a 6th grader. He’ll be laughed at in school.” Although some believe that male children should be sexually open, Japan will be mocked for being a cradle of child pornography. It is also becoming more common to hear of male children being victims of sexual abuse, so the conservative belief that exposure of nudity is a symbol of masculinity seems outdated.

The program in question did not expose the children’s genitals up-close, and the production side’s intention was simply to convey the warm atmosphere in a family setting. However, it is also a fact that there are people who feel uncomfortable watching such scenes and who are concerned about these images being abused.

With the spread of the Internet and the development of devices to create composite pictures, there is increasing concern about how images of naked female and male children including infants such as those in the programs in question, could be abused and used for production of child pornography which is inundating countries all over the world.

Taking into consideration such opinions from viewers and society’s concern over child pornography, the Committee held a series of discussions over 5 meeting sessions since last November. The Committee also asked the representative of a group aiming to eradicate child pornography for their opinion on the current situation. People often associate child pornography with female children, but it has become apparent that in many cases, male children are also victimized. Although the exact number of cases in Japan are not known, according to the Internet Hotline Center, established in June 2006 with the aim of gathering and handling information on the transmission of illegal and harmful material, 20% of the reported cases involved male children. A child pornography site showing male children was busted by the Kanagawa Prefectural Police last July. The average number of accesses per day to the site was 6000 and the number of accesses in 3 years was 6.84 million.

As the viewers have pointed out in their opinions, we must acknowledge that male child nudity is no longer an expression of openness or something that is heartwarming. Above all else, it is vital for broadcasters to acknowledge this fact considering the amount of influence television has on society.

There is no decisive proof that images of nude children broadcast on television have been misused on the Internet. However, it is a fact that the Internet is inundated with child pornography that includes images of nude male children taken from matching sites or by hidden cameras. There are also various images of children that have been created using digital morphing. Therefore, it is highly possible that images of children’s nude or genitals used in broadcasts will also be at risk of being abused on the Internet, and it is important that appropriate measures be taken.

Once an image is posted on the Internet, it will continue to be duplicated and remain there almost permanently. It will deeply scar the children after they grow up. Even if an image on television does not get misused on the Internet, the children whose naked bodies or genitals were exposed on television may be mocked by classmates after the broadcast. In either case, it is necessary to protect the children’s human rights.

The Committee does not intend to narrow the range of expression of those involved in production. However, considering the current situation of child pornography and to avoid the abuse of images broadcast on television, the Committee has decided to issue this warning statement and requests that broadcasters abide by Article 78 of the JBA Broadcasting Standards which states: “As a general rule, use of nude images must be avoided.”

▶Committee Decision #11

Request concerning drug problem-related news coverage and consideration for effects on youths

The Committee for Youth Programming held a series of discussions at its 104th meeting held in September and 105th meeting held in October after receiving numerous opinions from viewers on problems concerning youths and drugs in our society and related news coverage. On November 2nd, the Committee for Youth Programming issued the “Request concerning drug problem-related news coverage and consideration for effects on youths.

Present situation of youths and drugs
According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s data, the most common drugs in drug-related crimes are stimulants. The number of people arrested for crimes involving cannabis has almost doubled in the last 10 years, and the confiscated amount of synthetic narcotic drugs is also increasing very rapidly. Although the number of arrests involving drug-related crimes is decreasing as a whole, more than 60% of people arrested for crimes involving cannabis and synthetic narcotic drugs such as MDMA are minors or in their 20s. Their future is an issue of concern.
Under these circumstances, the Committee for Youth Programming believes that how each broadcaster decides to treat the issue of “youths and drugs” in their news coverage will become an important theme to consider.

Drug-related news coverage
Based on society’s drug problems and opinions from viewers, the Committee sought advice from experts on “youths and drug problems,” and asked their opinion on the current situation. After deliberation, the Committee decided to make the following requests to each broadcaster.

1. 1)Awareness
   It has become clear that the main motive behind youths’ drug usage is curiosity, and that they believe that “just a little bit won’t hurt” because they are ill-informed about the detrimental effects that drugs can have. It is also said that an increasing number of youths start using these dangerous drugs as though they were “fashion” items because they are referred to by abbreviated alphabetical characters. In order to avoid this tendency, the Committee requests that broadcasters take their news coverage on drug crimes a step further by not just simply reporting a crime case, but providing accurate information on the serious damage drugs can have on one’s health and society – that they can at times become weapons for human destruction – to make youths think and guide them correctly so that they do not fall into drugs.
2. 2)Expression
   Since the past summer, the Committee has received complaints from viewers saying that the expressions used in drug crime news coverage, such as the description of the source and usage of drugs, only make youths more curious about stimulant drugs. Chapter 10 Article 67 in The Japan Commercial Broadcasters’ Association Broadcasting Standards states that “Expressions used to report the methods used in a crime must not induce viewers to imitate the crime.” Article 69 states that “Images of people using narcotic or stimulant drugs must only be used in moderation and must not be shown as something that is appealing.” The Committee requests that each broadcaster understand and abide by the above rules, and that they must be extremely careful not to use expressions that would evoke youths’ interest in drugs.
3. 3)Multifaceted coverage
   There are multifaceted factors involved in drug-related problems, including the need to raise social morality. We must understand that drug trafficking is a major source of revenue for criminal organizations; that drug users will also victimize their families without knowing it; and that treatment for drug users and support for their rehabilitation are necessary. These are some of the various social issues that need to be solved before we can eradicate drugs from society. Each broadcaster must work toward solving drug-related problems by providing a multifaceted coverage that also includes background information and reports on the effects of drugs on our society instead of focusing solely on the individual involved in a drug crime.

The recent drug-related crime was extensively covered and aired by each broadcaster day after day for hours on end. The Committee is also questioning the amount and context of the coverage. News reports lacking the zeal to fight drug crimes and solve the underlying social problems only serve to evoke youths’ needless curiosity toward drugs. The Committee decided to make these three requests because it believes that providing news coverage that considers the effects on youths is very important in our efforts toward “drug eradication” which is presently a societal demand.

▶Committee Decision #12

Request Concerning Disaster News Reports and Consideration for the Effects on Children

On March 2, 2012, The Committee for Youth Programming released its “Request Concerning Disaster News Reports and Consideration for the Effects on Children” following a series of discussions on the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake news reports and related psychological stress such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) at its 129th and 130th Committee Meetings held in January and February.

The extensive news reports that each broadcaster provided around the clock after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 not only served the viewers’ right to know, but also made a significant contribution toward the support for the disaster victims. Disaster news reports inform viewers about what happened on that day and prepare us for possible future disasters, therefore are becoming ever more important.

he Committee respects the role that the news has in telling the “truth,” but also believes that news reports must be very careful about the stress that they put on children and that adequate care be taken. Since the disaster, many viewers have sent the Committee their concerns about the effects that disaster news reports have on children. While the Committee fully respects the broadcasters’ autonomy, the Committee has decided to request the three following points as we near the first anniversary of the disaster.

Request 1: Inserting a warning about the stress that certain footage in a program may cause.The Committee values each broadcaster’s efforts in carefully selecting which footage to broadcast, taking into consideration the stress that they may cause. It is also aware that some programs have already made the necessary efforts to alert viewers. The Committee hope that future broadcasts will continue to do so.

Request 2: The warning should be thoughtful and easy to understand so that parental guardians can share their knowledge on disaster stress.
The warning should be an effective message directed to the parental guardians whose role is to protect children from such stress. The content of the message and how it will be broadcast should be considered further by each broadcaster.
The Committee also requests that broadcasters consider making programs that help increase awareness on disaster stress, and that informational programs and news programs provide more informative commentaries and explanation for parental guardians.

Request 3: Extra care and consideration when using footage in a spot commercial.
If a footage of the disaster is shown as part of a program promotion, viewers are unexpectedly exposed to it without any warning or context, so its impact will inevitably be stronger than if it were shown during a disaster-related program. As for footage used in a spot commercial for a disaster-related program, the Committee asks that broadcasters thoroughly consider the danger of increasing the stress on children before broadcasting it.

On March 15, 2002, the Committee released the “Recommendation on News Reports Concerning Shocking Incidents and the Effect on Children” based on discussions following the Osaka school massacre and the September 11 attacks that had occurred the previous year. In the recommendation, the Committee states that “Television news reports serve to tell “the truth” to citizens who have the right to know, and are indispensable for the development of a democratic society. Even if the context is depressing or contains shocking images, it is legitimate to broadcast the content if it is necessary to tell the “truth,” which is the ultimate purpose of journalism. It is also necessary for children to watch the news and news reports to grow as a member of a civil society.” In addition to the above, the Committee requests that broadcasters “carefully consider the use of shocking images” and “examine the effects of repeated exposure” in order to protect children from psychological stress such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

As per the above recommendation, the Committee has decided to make a request once again to each broadcaster in order to avoid magnifying psychological damages such as PTSD on children caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake news reports.

<Reference>
BPO The Committee for Youth Programming
“Recommendation on News Reports Concerning Shocking Incidents and the Effect on Children” March 15, 2002.

The Japan Commercial Broadcasters’ Association’s Broadcasting Standards Deliberative Council
“Thoughts on “Displaying Prior Warning Concerning Program Content”” July 19, 2001

▶Committee Decision #13

Committee Chair Statement on “Shiawase no Jikan” (Tokai Television)

Since Tokai Television’s serial drama “Shiawase no Jikan” was first broadcast last November, BPO has received many critical opinions from viewers on the extremity of sexual depiction in the drama despite being broadcast during the day time.
As the drama was being aired at a time when children were likely to be watching television, the Committee for Youth Programming watched the drama in question and after a series of debates, concluded that it should begin a formal deliberation. In January 2013, the Committee and the head of Tokai Television’s production staff exchanged views at an extraordinary Committee meeting. However, the Committee felt that Tokai Television’s opinions lacked sufficient explanation. Therefore, the Committee issued “Points of Arguments” on BPO’s reports, and also sent Tokai Television a note “for future consideration.”
The Committee made the three following requests to Tokai Television: 1) to report what kind of debates and discussions were held within the company upon receiving the note from the Committee; 2) to build a system or take measures for the prevention of future recurrences; and 3) to acknowledge the highly public nature of terrestrial television. The Committee then received a “report” from Tokai Television just before the Committee meeting in February in which the broadcaster had responded to the three requests with sincerity and honesty. This time, it showed an effort to understand the essence of the issue in question, presented the recurrence prevention measures being taken, and acknowledged its duty in broadcasting which is highly public in nature. I would like to commend them for their efforts.
The most important issue that we wanted to address in this case was the accountability that television as a media has in society. As Tokai Television wrote in their report, “We cannot deny that the importance of the public nature of terrestrial television wasn’t stressed or shared enough among the production staff.” We hope every broadcaster strongly recognizes the responsibility they bear to the public.
When we talk about the “public nature” of television and radio, we are not only talking about the importance of acknowledging that anyone could be watching or listening, but more importantly, about how much influence the context of television and radio programs has on the enrichment of culture and education. When something is “public,” it involves everybody, and “public responsibility” refers to the responsibility of pursuing the “public good.” “Public consciousness” is the realization that one has the responsibility in making sure that this "public good” is beneficial for every individual.
Television and radio, along with the internet, are now the most important media in shaping people’s cultural level. By cultural level, I mean the “common sense” people share, or the shared perception of what is emotionally moving or infuriating. In a world where viewership is so competitive, we were concerned that the airing of such scenes as in “Shiawase no Jikan” during the day time would become the standard pattern that is widely accepted. We raised this issue because we wanted to know if and whether the production staff of the program realized that the context of the program may send the wrong message about the Japanese level of culture and education. Our fundamental request to those involved in program production is that they continue to remind themselves that their work involves contributing to the “public good.”
Tokai Television has stated clearly that it would take the necessary measures to prevent future recurrences. We appreciate their sincerity, and hope that they see this as an issue that needs to be raised not only among the production staff but also by the entire company.
I understand that there were many complaints from the viewers, and that the company’s program council and also its third-party organization “OMBUDS TOKAI” have issued a very harsh opinion concerning this program. I hope that Tokai Television will continue to use these organizations actively and effectively, and to commit themselves to self-directive program production.

▶Committee Decision #14

Recommendation on Variety Programs that use Pain to draw Laughter

The Committee’s perspective
With the spread of the internet and diversification of media, it is often said that the status of television and radio broadcasting that are highly public in nature, is gradually diminishing. However, the fact that they can be watched and listened to by anyone, regardless of age and sex, has not changed. Therefore, they still affect people’s lives to a great extent. This highly public nature of broadcasting is the raison d’être for BPO since its establishment.
Youths can now watch programs that are targeted toward adult viewers whenever and wherever they want through recordings or media other than television and radio. The Committee for Youth Programming, even before its integration into BPO, has paid attention to how not only youth programming but programming in general, could affect the worldview, values, and the development of social and emotional skills of youths who are still in their developmental stage. From time to time, the Committee has presented its recommendation or the Committee Chair’s comments to program producers, including the two following recommendations.
The Committee’s decision to deliberate on the issue of “variety programs using pain to draw laughter” is an extension of its basic perspectives.

The Committee’s past recommendations on variety programs:
Variety programs are highly popular among television viewers for their dynamic format and creativity. Programs that cast popular comedians have a relatively high audience rating throughout the year. In other words, programs that cast popular comedians have a big influence on many of those viewers. For the same reason, many of the Committee’s past deliberations involved issues with variety programs.
On November 29th 2000, before its integration into BPO, the Committee issued a recommendation to producers when including scenes that may affirm violence. The Committee pointed out that affirming violence infringes upon Article 19 of The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Broadcasting Standards that states, “When showing weapons and violence, the broadcaster must consider the effect this will have on youths.” The Committee also stated that such scenes contradict the purpose of the request by the Broadcasting Standards Deliberative Council that “broadcasters be careful that their programs do not affirm “bullying” in any way (June 1996).”
Furthermore, on October 23rd 2007, the Committee released its recommendation on “penalty games” often seen on variety programs, and the “psychological and physical violence inflicted on the cast.” The Committee introduced voices from junior high school monitors who usually like to watch variety programs, but even they expressed discomfort in watching such inhumane violent scenes in which pain is inflicted on the cast. Although there is no definitive proof of a connection between scenes of violence and “bullying” among children, many youths trust what they see on television. The Committee stated that “If youths are constantly exposed to scenes where people mock others with no consideration for how this would affect the person being mocked, then this is what will be ingrained in their minds, possibly harming the root of the worldview and values that these children will develop in the future.” The Committee asked broadcasters to consider this fact when producing future programs.

Voices from viewers and BPO’s youth monitors:
The Committee hopes that its recommendations, such as those mentioned above and the Committee Chair’s comments that are shared and presented to program producers, are being utilized when producing variety programs. However, the number of complaints sent to BPO concerning variety programs that involve “inflicting psychological and physical pain to the cast” has not decreased over the past few years. Many say that these programs “encourage bullying” and are “distasteful.” Recently, even the youth monitors have expressed their discomfort. “It’s unpleasant to watch people in the studio laughing at the person who is obviously suffering.” “It’s like watching power harassment among the cast members.”
Meanwhile, viewers have also commented on BPO‘s past recommendations on variety programs, saying that “Television will become boring.” “It’s up to each family to educate their children.” The Committee’s decision to begin a deliberation on “variety programs that use pain to draw laughter” has also caused a stir among some viewers who say that “BPO’s regulations will take away diversity from television programs.” “The content is within the range of our freedom of expression.” “It’s up to each family to educate children on bullying.”
BPO was established by the broadcast industry as a third-party organization that promotes higher ethical standards in broadcasting for the healthy development of children, while ensuring freedom of speech and expression. Television is still highly public in nature and therefore, has a considerable amount of authority within society and how it affects viewers. The intention of this recommendation is to urge producers to consider the above issues when producing programs that include violent scenes and pain to draw laughter.

The deliberation procedure:
The Committee decided to begin the deliberation on “variety programs that use pain to draw laughter” at its Committee Meeting on August 24th 2021, and held 7 sessions discussing the issue until March 22nd 2022. During the course of the deliberation, the Committee held a hearing and exchanged opinions with Professor Hisamitsu Mizushima from the Department of Sociology at Tokai University, who was a member of BPO’s Committee for the Investigation of Broadcasting Ethics that initially issued the “Opinion on recent television variety programs” on November 17th 2009. It also exchanged opinions with television production staff from broadcasters and the 2021 youth monitors.

Violent scenes and their meaning:
The broadcast of violent scenes must be considered very carefully because not only do these scenes cause an emotional reaction among viewers, but they could also cause infants to imitate those acts. However, it can also be said that the meaning of violent scenes differs greatly depending on the context or story of the scene, or the relationship between the individual who is using violence and the person being subjected to the act of violence.
The impact that a violent scene will have on the viewers also depends on whether there was a certain understanding or rule set between the two parties. For example, martial arts have rules (even if the rules are broken in the scene), and with the exception of infants, it is clear that violent scenes in television dramas are part of the “act.”
Recently, however, program producers are making “penalty games” or “pranks” in their variety programs look like reality programs to increase the impact on viewers. Even when the cast are aware of what’s going to happen to them, sometimes the staging is done so elaborately by both the staff and the cast, that even adults believe that the program is a reality show. Although the youth monitors have an understanding that the program is being staged by the producers and cast, there is a high possibility that elementary school children would perceive the program as a reality program.

Recently, many viewers have complained about programs such as those below:

A young comedian is told to put on underwear which has been sprayed with a highly irritant chemical. While he suffers from the increasingly stinging pain in the groin, the other cast members watch and laugh at him. The young comedian may have been told about the prank beforehand, but the pain seems real. Nevertheless, the other cast members were laughing at the sight of him in pain.

Another program makes the target comedian fall into a pitfall (a standard prank up until this point), and leaves them there for six hours at the longest. Their attempts to escape are broadcast over and over again, and some of the cast members who were watching the video in the studio laughed at the sight of this comedian failing to escape and falling back into the pitfall.
The above two cases are multi-layered in that there are the viewers, the individual on whom psychological and physical violence is being inflicted, and in between the two are the cast members who are laughing at the sight of the individual in pain.

The problem with such scenes being broadcast as a reality show format goes back to the Committee’s warning in its recommendation issued in 2007, in which it stated that “If youths are constantly exposed to scenes where people mock others with no consideration for how this would affect the person being mocked, then this is what will be ingrained in their minds, possibly harming the root of the worldview and values that these children will develop in the future.” There is a danger that this will actually happen for the following reasons.

The effects of watching people laugh at someone’s psychological and physical pain:
Recent studies on developmental psychology and brain science have helped further understand the relationship between brain activities and development of sociality and emotionality. It has now become clear that the circuitry of the “mirror neuron system” plays a vital role in our “understanding of other people’s intentions or feelings” which is extremely important in the development of healthy social skills. Our feelings and actions that result from observing someone else’s expressions or actions activate a part of the brain: the mirror neurons. For example, when we see the distressed expression of someone in pain, our mirror neurons become active, just like they would when we ourselves feel the pain. Consoling people in pain reduces the activity of one’s own mirror neurons (the projected pain), which is an important key in the development of empathy. When children watch scenes where “someone is being comforted or freed from agony,” they too feel freed and learn naturally to help others in need, developing their feeling of empathy toward others. In other words, if children grow up without seeing situations in which a person who is suffering or having difficulties is being comforted or helped by others, there is a higher possibility that their empathetic skills development will be impaired. This impairment is also one of the reasons why it is highly probable that people who were beaten during their childhood will also beat their own children (generational chain of abuse).

What would happen when children watch these variety programs in which the cast members are laughing at their fellow cast who seems to be in psychological and physical pain? This scene where “people are mocking a person who is suffering” will not decrease the activity of mirror neurons, possibly impairing the development of empathetic skills in children. Furthermore, if the people mocking the person in pain are comedians who the children respect and idolize, then the effect will be even bigger.

There is a growing number of scientific evidence on the effects that programs which repeatedly show such aggressive scenes have on the human psychology, especially children’s behavioral tendencies and their psychological development. In a meta-analysis of psychological, medical, and sociological theses collected over 60 years in the United States and other developed countries, it has been confirmed that youths who watch violent videos daily exhibit an increase in aggressive behavior and imperviousness to violence (desensitization), a decrease in prosocial behavior (i.e., helping behavior) and empathy, and other changes in psychological and behavioral patterns. It has been demonstrated that repeatedly watching victims in pain in violent situations will be a risk factor in increasing aggressive behavior in children. This aggressive behavior does not necessarily demonstrate itself immediately after exposure. For example, children between the ages of 6 and 10 who continuously watched videos with a lot of violent scenes may exhibit an increased aggressive behavior or antisocial behavior only after they reach the age of 15 to 18 years old. This indicates that the effects of watching violent videos can potentially be long-term.
In the last 15 years, social awareness on bullying has increased, and laws such as the “Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying (2013)” were enforced. The Committee has also presented recommendations on the issue in 2000 and 2007. There is a risk that children who watch these staged scenes in which people “inflict psychological and physical pain on someone” will imitate those acts, which may escalate and turn into bullying. Also, the sight of guests in the studio sitting back and laughing at these acts may send the wrong message that it’s okay to stand by and watch someone get bullied.

Closing comments:
The goal of the Committee’s recommendations is not to present standards or rules to producers of variety programs.
Variety programs provide us with laughter which activates the brain and has a relaxation effect, freeing us from stress and allowing us to develop smooth relationships with others. There is no doubt that variety programs are an important genre in television. The Committee was also made aware through exchanges with television production staff, that producers tirelessly put in their effort to deliver enjoyable humor to viewers despite their limited resources.
That said, however, looking back at television’s 70-year history and its highly public nature, the Committee would like to stress that in order to produce variety programs that are not only enjoyable but also match the needs of the times and social conditions, it is important for the production staff to constantly review, improve, and make best use of their insight, experience, talent, and technology.
The latest studies in brain science and psychology have also pointed out that watching “people laughing at someone’s psychological and physical pain” will possibly have a negative effect on the youth’s development of empathy and view of humanity. Producers must therefore consider this fact carefully when creating their programs which have considerable influence on the audience.
The Committee issued this recommendation in the hopes that television production staff will continue to explore and create even more enjoyable variety programs, while sincerely and humbly accepting the highly public nature of television and the effects that programs have on youths.