“It’s a security hole that endangers democracy itself.” NieR creator speaks out against payment processors pressuring Japanese adult content platforms 

Drakengard and NieR: Automata creator Yoko Taro recently joined in on the discourse surrounding Western credit card payment processors and the pressure they have been exerting on Japanese adult content platforms in the past year. 

In a post on his personal X account, Yoko Taro commented: 

About credit card payment companies refusing to process payments for legal adult content.

Publishing and similar fields have always faced regulations that go beyond the law, but the fact that a payment processor, which is involved in the entire infrastructure of content distribution, can do such things at its own discretion seems to me to be dangerous on a whole new level. 

It implies that by controlling payment processing companies, you can even censor another country’s free speech. 

In a follow-up tweet, Yoko Taro goes on to say that “I feel like it’s not just a matter of censoring adult content or jeopardizing freedom of expression, but rather a security hole that endangers democracy itself.” 

The game director’s statement was most likely triggered by the news that Manga Library Z is shutting down. The platform, which has preserved digital editions of out-of-print manga for the past 14 years, was initially pressured by international credit card companies to remove manga that contained certain words, and then abruptly forced to terminate all of its payment contracts, leaving it with no way to secure revenue for its authors. The cause cited for this was transactions involving adult content. 

In similar ways, Japanese comic, game, and art platforms like DLsite, Skeb, Fantia, Pixiv and Niconico have been forced to accommodate censorship requirements from payment processors and rely on alternative payment options that are largely underused by their users (such as crypto and Japan-exclusive e-money and convenience store payments). 

Yoko Taro argues that the power payment processors are able to exert on platforms is dangerous not only in terms of legal erotic media being censored, but also because it can potentially allow countries to compromise the democracy of others.