Japan: Branches of Mandarake Bookstores are banned from selling adult items for 180 days

Mandarake bookstores are known for their used manga and anime art books, but in fact, the chain has a huge selection of second-hand merchandise from pop culture and entertainment media, including CDs, board games, toys and magazines. . They sell almost everything and, because of that, Mandarake ended up getting tangled up with the law…

Mandarake also handles back issues of ”binibon”, pornographic magazines wrapped in dark vinyl sleeves. In 2021 and 2022, Mandarake was found to have sold 6 books containing ”obscene material”, the sale of which is prohibited by law, and in May, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police brought charges against the president of Mandarake and four other employees.

Branches of Mandarake Bookstores are banned from selling adult items for 180 days

The nature of the material is not being disclosed in public reports, but at the time of the allegations, Mandarake apologized saying that at the time of their original publication, these items were not illegal.

The 6 books were sold for a total of 74,000 yen (US$ 532) in two branches of Tokyo Mandarake, one in Shibuya Ward and another in Nakano Ward.

The Tokyo Public Safety Commission has banned both stores from selling adult items for 180 days, which starts on November 18 and runs until May 16.

Mandarake’s chairman and other indicted officials will not be charged individually with any crime, and the company says it does not intend to appeal the Public Safety Commission’s decision.

What do you think about this case of Mandarake Bookstores? Let us know in the comments!

Source: SoraNews24