Nihon Ethics of Video Association

The Nihon Ethics of Video Association (NEVA) (日本ビデオ倫理協会, Nippon Bideo Rinri Kyōkai^?, "Japan Video Morality Association"), usually abbreviated as Viderin (official) or Biderin (both: ビデ倫), was a Japanese video rating organization. NEVA was founded in 1972 and had its headquarters in the Chūō ward of Tokyo.^[1] It was a voluntary organization to ensure adherence to Japanese obscenity laws which prohibit any display of genitals. This is accomplished by a mosaic pixelation applied to videos for sale in Japan and the NEVA seal is placed on all videos produced by member studios, which included the larger and older adult video studios in Japan, including h.m.p., Kuki Inc., and Alice Japan belonged to NEVA.^[1][2] In recent years, the mosaic has been digitally applied and has become more transparent and in June 2007 some restrictions (such as showing pubic hair) were lifted by NEVA.^[3]

In response, on August 23, 2007 the Tokyo Metropolitan police raided the offices of NEVA and several AV studios (including h.m.p.) and confiscated videos as part of an investigation of video producers and distributors suspected of distributing obscene material depicting genitals.^[1][4] At the beginning of March 2008, five members of NEVA, including, Hiroyuki Gorogawa (五郎川 弘之^?), the former C.E.O. of h.m.p. and one of the board members of NEVA, and the head of the inspection division, were arrested for the sale and distribution of indecent material because the digital mosaic used was too revealing.^[5] In April 2008, NEVA announced it would be forming a new organization to provide reforms and uniform screening practices for videos.^[6]

See also

• Censorship
• Censorship in Japan
• Computer Entertainment Rating Organization—the Japanese rating system for video games
• Eirin—the Japanese film rating organization
• Motion picture rating system
• Pornography in Japan

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Nihon Ethics of Video Association" (in Japanese). Viderin. http://www.viderin.jp/. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
2. ^ "Fix for Japan Pop-Culture Addicts". Wired. April 12, 2004. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/04/63009. Retrieved 9 September 2010. 
3. ^ "Adult movie producers raided in Tokyo after showing too much". Japan News Review. August 23, 2007. http://www.japannewsreview.com/society/kanto/20070823page_id=1698. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
4. ^ Otsubo, Kemuta (September 6, 2007). "その裏を読む [Viderin Raid]" (in Japanese). allabout.co.jp. http://allabout.co.jp/entertainment/adultvideo/closeup/CU20070906A/. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
5. ^ "Ethics body bigwigs busted for failing to blank out the dirty bits in adult DVDs". Mainichi Shimbun. 1 March 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080303053023/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080301p2a00m0na003000c.html. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
6. ^ "有識者会議からの提言 [Recommendations of the Advisory Council]" (in Japanese). Viderin. http://www.viderin.jp/pdf/080407.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-08. ^{[dead link]}

References

• Martin, Alex, "EIRIN: All movies subject to rating, even cuts, Independent body screens, and censors, flicks". FYI. The Japan Times, March 2, 2010, p. 3.