SAITAMA--Saitama prefectural officials have found themselves in troubled waters over commercial photo shoots held at parks that have included swimsuit models in sexy poses and models who were minors.

After a prefecture-related organization ordered the cancellation of photo shoots at prefectural water parks, sparking heated debate, Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono instructed it to partially rescind the order.

The Saitama Park and Greenery Association, which manages prefecture-run parks, on June 8 asked six organizations to cancel their swimsuit photo sessions scheduled this month at Shirakobato Water Park in Koshigaya and Kawagoe Water Park in Kawagoe.

The association made the request on the grounds that it found models had been photographed in “extreme poses” that were not in accordance with the guidelines. It also decided not to issue permits for swimsuit photo shoots in the future.

However, Ono posted on Twitter on June 11 that there were no rules regarding photo shoots at Kawagoe Water Park and that only two of the six organizers had violated the rules.

He said he instructed the association to rescind the event cancellation order to the remaining four organizers.

“The act of photographing models wearing swimsuits falls under freedom of expression granted by the Constitution and is not something the local government should intervene in,” Ono said at a news conference on June 12. 

He asked the association to consult with experts on the matter for holding swimsuit photo shoots and standard rules for filming.

Since the end of May, the association has conducted online research of the photo shoots in question based on citizen input.

It confirmed that photos were taken at some of the events where models posed with their legs splayed wide open and their swimsuits slid low on their bodies.

It also found that models who were minors had participated in the shoots.

The three prefecture-run parks with swimming pools prohibit acts that violate public order and public decency.

In addition, the Shirakobato Water Park has a specific rule for photo shoots, forbidding “poses considered extreme.”

Citing these rules, the association said, “The parks are public facilities but (such filming) crosses the line. Similar violations could occur in the future.”

It called for a uniform halt of the swimsuit photo shoots, including organizers whose violations could not be confirmed.

The controversy spread online. While some posters said, “It is wrong to commercialize women in public places” and “it is natural such events should be canceled,” others said, “rules are vague” and “(cancellation of such an event) could infringe on freedom of expression.”

A woman who was scheduled to participate as a model also posted, “Don’t take my job away.”

EXPERTS ALSO DIVIDED

Lawyer Keiko Ota, who specializes in gender discrimination issues, said, “Such events should not be held in public facilities.”

“When photo shoots start getting more explicit on site, models are sometimes forced to pose in ways they don’t want. This hurts their dignity,” she said. 

She added the photos, especially those of minors, constitute sexual exploitation of children.

“These could be considered child pornography,” Ota said. 

However, Hisashi Sonoda, professor emeritus of criminal law at Konan University, considers the rules of Shirakobato Water Park to be “overly restrictive.”

He said that public facilities “should respect freedom of expression more than private facilities.”

“Freedom of expression can be restricted in cases of violation of the Penal Code or the Law Banning Child Prostitution and Child Pornography,” Sonoda added.

Yoko Shida, professor of constitutional law at Musashino Art University and an expert on freedom of expression, said it’s problematic that the organizers who were to hold the photo shoot at Kawagoe Water Park were uniformly asked to cancel it despite there being no rules for filming.

But she said that public facilities have “the purpose of promoting the welfare of residents,” and it is “within the administrators’ discretion" to set rules in light of social circumstances.

Shida said that there are no legal issues with imposing strict rules on certain events if advance notice is given.

(This article was written by Nobufumi Yamada and Miku Kobayashi.)