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An extreme stealth ban on loli material extending to “clothing or voices reminiscent of a person under the age of 18” has been proposed as an amendment to Tokyo’s regional laws, with clear nationwide implications. A summary of the relevant passages from the proposed amendment: Any literature or film which might be thought to constitute a depiction of sexual activity involving or apparently involving a person under 18, someone dressed in a manner reminiscent of an under-18, or who speaks like an under-18, may not in Tokyo be viewed by or sold or distributed to any young person.

[A ban on sales, lending or distribution to, or viewing by, minors in the Tokyo area would cover:] 1. Items which stimulate sexual emotions, foster cruelty, encourage suicide or promote crime, or otherwise impede the healthy growth of youth. [This clause is identical to current legislation] 2. Items which through age, clothing, accessories, school year, setting, other people’s ages, or voice, seems reminiscent of a person who might be recognised as an under-18 (hereafter called a “a fictional minor”) engaged in, or appearing to be engaged in, sexual activity or activity resembling sexual activity, or which impede the development of healthy sexual faculties in youths, or which might be feared to obstruct the healthy development of youths.

documents leading to the creation of the bill and information extracted by Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members indicate that BL (Boys Love,) Yaoi, Ladies Comics, romantic Shojo Manga, and many publications aimed toward girls and women are being targeted.

Why are women's publications more likely to be affected by this bill? Because the common visual style in such material is not as graphic as with men's publications, and therefore "not erotic, but dangerous subject matter" criteria for regulation will probably have an impact of women more than men's manga and anime fictio

The "Pedestrians' Paradise" tradition abruptly ended when a 27-year-old man named Tomohiro Katō reportedly struck five individuals with a truck at an intersection near the main Japan Railways station of Akihabara on Sunday, June 8, 2008. He then allegedly proceeded to leave the vehicle and stab 12 people on the streets. By the following Sunday, "Pedestrians' Paradise" was put on hold until further notice.