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Books Kinokuniya Sydney: 7 Manga Were Removed Due to Ongoing Classification by Australian Board

Books Kinokuniya Sydney sent a statement to ANN on July 24 regarding its removal of seven manga titles for sale following a written complaint by South Australian legislator Connie Bonaros. The bookstore stated that the removal was not due to political pressure, but due to Australia's Classification Board determining that the titles needed to be submitted for classification in accordance with the country's Classification Act.

While books do not regularly need to be submitted to the Classification Board, Books Kinokuniya Sydney said that the Board decided to classify the titles after "they were brought to the attention" of the Board "by some politicians." As the books are currently undergoing classification, Kinokuniya Sydney is not allowed to sell them.

Books Kinokuniya Sydney also added that while it is "considered to be responsible" for submitting each imported title to the Classification Board, the cost of the classification process for each title would be prohibitive for the bookstore. It noted that the Board has been supportive, and has indicated to Kinokuniya Sydney that "some of the titles would likely be fine for unrestricted sale, others might have restrictions apply, and just a few would probably be refused classification."

Books Kinokuniya Sydney removed the following titles:

• Eromanga Sensei
• Sword Art Online
• Goblin Slayer
• No Game, No Life
• Inside Mari
• Parallel Paradise
• Dragonar Academy

The Australian Classification Board banned the first, second, and ninth volumes of the No Game, No Life light novel series by refusing classification on them on July 23. Refused titles "cannot be sold, hired, advertised or legally imported in Australia. RC-classified material contains content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally-accepted community standards." The Australian political party Centre Alliance applied for these novel volumes' classification.

Legislator Bonaros wrote that she was concerned that the bookstore was hosting "child pornography material," and called for the removal of "these offensive books." Bonaros belongs to the SA-Best party, the Centre Alliance's affiliate party for South Australian state elections. In February, Stirling Griff from the Centre Alliance called for a review of all anime and manga currently accessible in Australia, expressing concerns about media depicting "child exploitation."

Source: Email correspondence