Following mass delisting of NSFW video games across platforms like Steam and Itch.io, Japanese politician and former assemblyman Zenko Kurishita addressed the issue of credit card companies’ censorship in a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer. Kurishita, who lobbied against Japan’s legal restrictions on children’s daily gaming time back in 2020, has likewise been vocal about defending freedom of expression in popular media throughout the years.
The issue of credit card companies one-sidedly enforcing censorship of games only recently started gaining traction on a worldwide level, but in Japan, it has been a problem ever since 2022, when crackdowns on adult content platforms like DLsite began. It goes without saying that things have escalated in the meantime, and Kurishita says that the most dangerous part of the ongoing censorship is the “invisible” mechanism behind it.
Aside from being private companies that wield enormous power over digital payments, the problem with credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard is that “no one knows their true intentions,” Kurishita says. They do not state their principles outright, aside from general remarks like “doing what’s necessary to protect brand reputation.”
Based on his communication with parties affected by credit card companies’ restrictions, Kurishita says that even the platforms themselves are not informed of any clear reasons or rules – they just receive short-notice ultimatums, which causes them to “err on the side of safety” and carry out mass deletions of content. They have no way of finding out what specific content triggered the issue, and are forced to act quickly so as to not lose their most widely used payment options.
“From people I’ve spoken with at multiple platforms, they’re just suddenly told, ‘Starting next week, you won’t be able to use our [payment] services anymore.’ And it’s not even communicated by Visa or Mastercard directly, it’s passed down indirectly through acquirers or payment processors.”
Kurishita suggests that this indirect communication and vague messaging is deliberate, and is the most problematic part of the issue.
“Especially with regards to what’s happening on Steam, the fact that no one takes responsibility is concerning. In other words, responsibility for censorship is deliberately spread out so it’s difficult to pin down. In fact, Visa and Mastercard deny being directly involved. They’re the ones who create the rules, but it’s the acquirers and processors under them that actually enforce them.”
“Because the structure is so complex, you can’t clearly tell who is regulating what, or for what purpose. That uncertainty is the most frightening part, and the essence of the problem. (…) However, precisely because it’s made so hard to see, I think most people don’t perceive how serious a threat it is. And the companies are exploiting that lack of awareness to maintain their power, which is not healthy.”
Kurishita says that the solution to this problem lies in raising awareness and diversifying payment options – especially in Japan, which he considers a very non-self-reliant country when it comes to payment infrastructure. If giants like Visa and Mastercard were faced with competition, and thus a real threat of losing market share, they likely wouldn’t be able to make such aggressive moves.
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