Previously, obscenity was regulated by the 1907 Penal Code of Japan. Under Article 7, it outlawed the production, transport, import and export of child pornography, as well as possession of child pornography for the aforementioned purposes. The Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Protection of Children came into effect on May 26, 1999.
Virtual child pornography, which depicts wholly-fictional characters, is legal to produce and possess. Simple possession of child pornography was made illegal by an amendment to the act in 2014. The production, sale, distribution, and commercialization of child pornography in Japan is illegal under the Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Protection of Children (1999), and is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a fine of ¥5,000,000.
