Hit Shuppansha's adult/loli manga magazine Comic Shoujo Tengoku will be succeeded by a new loli manga magazine titled Comic ino.. The first issue of Comic ino. will be released on April 18th.

Comic Shoujo Tengoku was published monthly for 5 years - from March 18th, 2003 to March 18th, 2008.

Source: Toranoana

According to Canned Dogs, artist Ishii Meguru was arrested in Yokohama for committing "indecent acts with a 15 year old girl through November and December last year for a total of 4 times.":

The article reports that Ishii Meguru was an artist for the novelized version of Higurashi no naku koro ni (though he only did some art for Ichijinsha's novel anthologies, the artist for the official higurashi novels is Tomohi), and that he was also popular among fans of gothic lolita.

Reuters is reporting that UNICEF, the Japan branch of the United Nations Children's Fund, is not satisfied with Japan's recent move to to ban possession of child pornography, and urges Tokyo to include child pornography in manga, anime and games in the ban:

[...] the Japan branch of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) urged Tokyo to beef up its laws by banning child pornography in manga comics, animated films and computer games as well as individual possession.

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AHN is reporting that legislation is being drafted in Japan, under international pressure, to ban possession of child pornography. However, the, "the prohibition reportedly exempts manga comics and animated film." The Guardian has more:

Manga belonging to the popular "lolicon" - Japanese slang for Lolita complex - genre are likely to escape the ban, as MPs are concerned that outlawing them could infringe on freedom of expression and drive men who use them as an outlet for their sexual urges to commit more serious offences.

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Naisho no Tsubomi Volume 3 was released on the 29th. Yu Yabuuchi's Naisho no Tsubomi is a sex-ed manga aimed at elementary school students, with a fifth-grade girl as its protagonist. The manga became extremely popular and received many praises.

However, despite Naisho no Tsubomi's success, not all manga involving sex are met with welcoming arms by the Japanese society. In fact, obscene shojo manga (smut) and lolicon manga have always been the target of various child protection groups. Recent news reports of actions taken against harmful shojo and loli manga involving excessive sexual content seem to suggest that a potential new movement is on the horizon. Below is a brief overview of current events, past "wars" and some case studies involving a breed of manga seen by many as "harmful books."

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On June 7th, the Kyoto Prefecture local government identified 13 loli manga titles as "harmful books" for featuring excessive sexual content involving girls under the age of 13.

On June 15th, the prefecture's Commission on the Health and Growth of Youths announced the 13 titles that were investigated. The website Doujinshi Life and Culture General Research Center (via Icarus Blog) has a list the titles from Kyoto Shimbun and their respective publishers:

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On June 7th, the Kyoto Prefecture's local government investigated and labeled 13 loli manga as "harmful book."

The fact that manga containing excessive sexual content can be accessed by juvenile at common bookstores and convenience stores is regarded as a social problem in Japan. As a result, the Kyoto local government has decided to label manga containing inappropriate content involving elementary school girls, also there will be a meeting with the Juveniles Growth Planning Committee on the 15th to further discuss this matter.

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Nymphet (Kodomo no Jikan) creator Kaworu Watashiya has posted on her blog her thoughts on the recent cancellation of Nymphet in the U.S. japanator has a translation of the post:

There are differences in the border [between what's acceptable and not] for representations of young girls in each place, time, and culture, so if the people there have decided that it's unacceptable then that's that. To those commendable Americans who wanted to read it, I???ll say "There's always the original."

PWCW's Kai-Ming Cha interviews Seven Seas's Jason DeAngelis, who talks about the recent controversy surrounding the cancellation of Nymphet.

Via: Icarus Blog

Seven Seas president Jason DeAngelis has sent out a letter in response to the reaction caused by the cancellation of Nymphet. The letter includes a brief timeline of the cancellation process, answers to questions raised by the fans, as well as a look at the current state of the U.S. manga market and how difficult it is to acquire a license for publishers:

So, my primary reason for canceling NYMPHET is due to my recent realization that later volumes in the series can not be considered appropriate for the US market by any reasonable standard. For those of you who have been defending the title and have expressed anger about its cancellation, as a fan, I understand your frustration. But, at this point, I can only assume that you have not seen certain segments later in the series, just as I hadn???t, which very clearly cross the line, and which I can no longer stand by or support in good conscience.