Possession of child pornography,
including those depicting real children, is legal in Japan. Distribution of child pornography was made de jure illegal in 2003 after international pressure from the United Nations, UNICEF and other international organizations,
although the law made a distinction between hardcore pornography and the softcore pornography that is widely available in Japan, such as at junior idol and lolicon media centers like Akihabara and Nipponbashi, and at most konbini, or Japanese convenience stores.[2][/quote[