EIGA
RINRI IINKAI aka EIRIN (Film Classification and Rating Committee) is an
independent, non-governmental organization, which has been responsible for the
classification of motion pictures since 1956.
When classifying films EIRIN considers eight criteria:
- theme
- language
- sex
- nudity
- violence
- horror
- drug use
- criminal behavior
- context
EIRIN has four categories
- G stands for general viewing and means the film is suitable
for audiences all ages
- PG 12 means parental guidance is requested for those under
12 years of age
- R 15+ is for only those 15 and above
- R 18+ is only for those 18 and above.
Since EIRIN's rating system is based somewhat on the U.S. and British
model, its age restrictions are similar, although the Americans and the
British have more categories.
Softcore Sex
Japanese law forbids films from depicting sexual organs and indecent
images of minors.
Censorship of sexually explicit content, however, led to the creation
and popularity of soft-core porn, or pink films, starting in the
1960s. By the 1980s, however, adult videos had become the norm.
Because EIRIN banned the the display of genitalia or pubic hair,
fogging it out or blurring it with a digital mosaic, the producers of
pink films developed elaborate ways to self censor, using various props
positioned at strategic locations to hide taboo areas.
Despite a drastic decline in the popularity of pink films in recent
years, the genre still enjoys a cult following domestically and
overseas.
Currently, EIRIN allows the screening of foreign films that display
female or male genitalia if the material is not pornographic and fulfils
certain conditions.
Hardcore Sex
In the case of adult porn videos and games, several self- regulating
organizations are responsible for the screening process and with
advising member companies on the changes needed to avoid breaking the
law.
Such organizations include the Nihon Ethics of Video Association (Biderin),
which was the oldest of the lot but ceased screening activities after it
was raided by police in 2007, the Ethics Organization of Computer
Software (Sofurin), and the Contents Soft Association.
Organisation
EIRIN tasks five commissioners of various professional backgrounds
with executing its policies, maintaining its category divisions and
appointing examiners.
The management team consists of five staff members and nine examiners
who are responsible for reviewing films and trailers, making category
decisions, and advising on cuts or modifications.
According to Kiyotoshi Kodama, EIRIN's secretary general, at least
two film examiners are responsible for viewing a single movie.
By simple arithmetic, considering that we handle around 600 films
per year, a single examiner would view roughly 150 films during the
course of a year, he said.
Kodama said that since the examiners base their evaluations on set
principles, their ratings in most cases are unanimous.
But on those rare occasions when examiners disagree, or when the
film's applicant objects to an assigned rating, a film can be brought
back for further consideration by other examiners.
Although EIRIN has no legal power to ban a film, the rules stipulated
by the Japan Association of Theatre Owners, which covers the owners of
most of the nation's cinemas, forbids its members from screening films
that haven't been classified and OK'd by EIRIN.
EIRIN's income is derived entirely from examination fees, which are
currently Yen 2,740 (£20) per minute, plus tax.
