An article from the Japanese media Excite News addressed a controversy that arose around the Comic Market (Comiket). Over the past weekend, this event attracted over 260,000 attendees in two days, but sadly, the enthusiasm was overshadowed by an alarming matter: the voyeuristic behavior of some photographers on cosplay locations. The Excite News report gives us an in-depth look at this incident that has caused controversy on social media and highlights the need to maintain a respectful and safe environment at this iconic event.
«Comic Market (Comiket) 102 was held last weekend, attracting about 260,000 people over the two days. While everyone enjoyed the event in an orderly manner, voyeuristic photographers were denounced on social media, causing immediate controversy. One of the highlights of Comiket is the cosplay locations. A total of three spaces were prepared to take pictures of the people who cosplayed, and the whole place was packed from 1:00 p.m.».
«Unfortunately, not a few voyeuristic photographers ignored the “photography rules” presented by the Comiket organizing committee, and repeatedly broke them on both days. On August 12, when a reporter was continuing his coverage of Comiket, he saw a middle-aged man who continued to behave suspiciously. The subject had a compact digital camera in hand, a head garment to cover both ears, and a cap».
«At the same time, a cosplayer in a bunny outfit and wearing fishnets walked ahead of him, while the subject walked closely behind her. Looking sideways, he could see that the man was holding his camera at the height of his navel and the monitor showed that he was in video recording mode. In summary, the subject was recording the buttocks of the girl in a bunny suit, something absolutely prohibited by the Comiket organizing committee».
«The rules on photography at Comiket state that it is forbidden to film without the permission of the target person, to film in such a way that others cannot see that it is being filmed, or to take any kind of voyeuristic photography. When the reporter asked the cosplayer if she had given permission to this guy, she replied no. The reporter hastened to point it out and the man began to run in the opposite direction, quickly turning off his camera. When the reporter took him by the hand and held him back, the subject apologized fiercely and said that he would delete all the videos, apologizing to everyone present.».
«Next, the cosplayer joined the conversation and expressed: “We’re about to go into the locker room, so I don’t have time to deal with this. I’ll forgive you this time, so please delete all the videos and promise me it won’t happen again.“, and then ask the reporter to release the man».
«The reporter narrates that he witnessed these behaviors three times during the same day, including unauthorized video recording from the waiting line and even extremely close to the cosplayers. He caught the attention of the cosplayers and asked them to be alert to these situations, but it turns out that these cases are not uncommon».
«Internet users on social networks expressed their anger at the presence of voyeurists at Comiket, saying that it is a crime to take these types of photographs and recordings, and that the number of criminals who make an appearance at this event every year is surprising. Although there are staff and police officers present on the premises, many times these situations go unnoticed and the subjects end up getting away with it.».
