I was hesitant about the former, until I noticed that it was only for the used underwear of those under 18. Seems fair.

Regarding the latter: good god.

..Why would anyone outlaw the sale of used panties? Why do humans do such stupid, pointless things? If people want to get their jollies from used panties, then let them!

Used panties are a small issue (considering the machines used to sell them are becoming few and far between). If we want to focus on real issues involving Japan (and real issues that the Japanese need to focus on), I'd draw more people's attention to how teenagers resort to prostitution because they want money to buy a Gucci bag or the rise in "parasite singles".

After reading that forum, I need a hot shower.

And next time I go in a locker room, I'll be extra sure to keep an eye on my undies.

I swear, the more I hear about Japanese sexuality the more surreal it gets.

Underage panties = bad.
Stealing panties = bad.

But, radical though this may sound, I've always thought that men who were partial to sniffing used panties had a healthier approach to female sexuality than women who use perfumed 'intimate wipes' and don't feel clean unless they've had every pube removed.

* disclaimer, am not dissing depilation here, just the idea that one is 'unclean' without it

After reading those comments, I don't know if I should think of some of those folks as sickos. O_o And I agree with xana about those issues of young girls resorting to prostitution just so they buy designer handbags.

This post is why feministing rules.

I checked the urban dictionary and this practice has been illegal since it was introduced in 1993. Originally they used a wierd antique item sales law to crack down on it, but it must have proved difficult. This regulation change is hard to track down (it is not mentioned in any newspapers from Japan, for example, that I could find online; nor was it mentioned in my hardcopy daily here in Japan); but it seems it was tacked on to a bill about "youth safety", which also changes laws about access to karaoke bars and porn shops.

The Japanese have a word for people who buy this sort of thing - sukebe, or "perverted" - and they don't think any more highly of it than we do. So I don't know that we should say Japanese sexuality is "surreal" (although the business with octopusses certainly seems a bit strange).

The prostitution-for-designer-handbags thing is probably also a bit of a myth about young Japanese women. It's easy to believe that this sort of thing happens if one is willing to subscribe to the standard western view of Japanese women as hopeless materialist bimbos with no future and no rights; but this is completely wrong, and so is the stereotype it spawns.

"The prostitution-for-designer-handbags thing is probably also a bit of a myth about young Japanese women."

The version I heard was closer to prostitution-for-money-to-pay-for-male-prostitutes:

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,193635,00.html

Yes, the host bar, butler cafes and gigolos aspect of Japanese life is often overlooked when foreigners discuss Japanese sexual morality.