Tokyo gay shop staff arrested for selling ‘obscene’ book

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – Staff at a Tokyo gay store were arrested for selling a book of photography that includes images of male nudity authorities deemed obscene, Gay Star News reports.

The manager of Lumiere, located in Tokyo’s gay district, was taken into custody along with one employee for selling four copies of Singapore photographer Leslie Kee’s book in 2011, according to the report. Both manager and employee were released.

In February, Kee made an appearance at the store, which sold several copies of the book. The photographer and two other people were arrested Feb 4 for selling his books at an exhibition at a Tokyo gallery. Kee was released two days after the arrest, Gay Star News notes.

Gay Star News indicates that Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code forbids the sale, distribution or public display of images, writings and other materials that are obscene, but the law does not specifically define what constitutes obscenity.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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