{"id":70784,"date":"2026-08-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=70784"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T09:12:21","slug":"japanese-ethics-watchdog-deliberates-on-a-certain-anime-featuring-a-cat-eared-heavy-smoker-after-viewers-complain-about-problematic-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-ethics-watchdog-deliberates-on-a-certain-anime-featuring-a-cat-eared-heavy-smoker-after-viewers-complain-about-problematic-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese ethics watchdog deliberates on a \u201ccertain anime featuring a cat-eared heavy smoker\u201d after viewers complain about problematic content"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan\u2019s BPO (Broadcasting Ethics &amp; Program Improvement Organization) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bpo.gr.jp\/?p=12893\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently deliberated<\/a> on a certain late-night comedy anime \u201cdepicting the coexistence of humans and beastfolk\u201d after depictions of smoking and presumed drug use drew complaints from viewers. Based on the description \u2013 which explicitly mentions a female cat-eared protagonist who smokes heavily \u2013 the anime in question is widely presumed to be Bibury Animation Studio\u2019s <strong>Chainsmoker Cat <\/strong>(Yani Neko), which has been drawing attention for its somewhat shocking content ever since it started airing on national television and Netflix in early July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BPO is an independent third-party organization that acts like a watchdog for Japanese broadcasters, handling public complaints and inspecting ethical compliance and the quality of TV programs, radio, and the like. On July 28, the organization\u2019s youth committee held a meeting during which it addressed complaints surrounding Chainsmoker Cat\u2019s content \u2013 primarily depictions of smoking and the \u201cself-injection of drug-like substances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the published summary of the meeting, viewers questioned whether it was problematic for a TV show to include repeated depictions of such scenes. While the committee\u2019s opinions were somewhat divided, the overall consensus appeared to be in favor of respecting the show\u2019s freedom of expression. The committee member in charge noted that by scheduling the anime in a late-night slot, when children are unlikely to be watching, the producers demonstrated ample consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1277\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1277px) 100vw, 1277px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260710-69486-header-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-70787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260710-69486-header-1.jpg 1277w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260710-69486-header-1-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260710-69486-header-1-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, they commented that, \u201cSince [the anime] does not explicitly state that illegal drugs are being used, I believe it falls within the acceptable range in terms of freedom of expression.&#8221; Another argument cited that, being an animated work, Chainsmoker Cat could not be expected to have the kind of impact on young people that live-action shows can. Its content was deemed to fall within the range of creative expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, it was also argued that a scene involving a self-administered injection \u201ccan hardly be interpreted as anything besides stimulant use,\u201d and that \u201cat a time when illegal drug use is a major social issue, it is better to avoid broadcasting ambiguous content.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, however, it doesn\u2019t look like the anime will be subject to further scrutiny, as the committee decided not to proceed with the next deliberation phase on the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/chainsmoker-cats-cast-was-told-to-treat-that-was-terrible-as-a-compliment-during-production-yaniko-and-yakuko-voice-actresses-talk-about-their-roles\/\">Chainsmoker Cat\u2019s cast was told to treat \u201cThat was\u00a0terrible\u201d as a compliment during production. Yaniko and Yakuko voice\u00a0actresses\u00a0talk about their roles\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/controversial-mii-chan-and-yamada-san-anime-to-proceed-despite-domestic-backlash-over-depictions-of-intellectual-disability-creators-deny-discriminatory-intent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Controversial\u00a0Mii-chan\u00a0and Yamada-san\u00a0anime\u00a0to\u00a0proceed\u00a0despite domestic backlash over depictions of\u00a0intellectual\u00a0disability. Creators deny discriminatory intent\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the committee had somewhat mixed opinions, the topic will not be pursued any further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":70786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17],"class_list":["post-70784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Japanese ethics watchdog deliberates on a \u201ccertain anime featuring a cat-eared heavy smoker\u201d after viewers complain about problematic content - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-ethics-watchdog-deliberates-on-a-certain-anime-featuring-a-cat-eared-heavy-smoker-after-viewers-complain-about-problematic-content\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japanese ethics watchdog deliberates on a \u201ccertain anime featuring a cat-eared heavy smoker\u201d after viewers complain about problematic content - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While the committee had somewhat mixed opinions, the topic will not be pursued any further.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-ethics-watchdog-deliberates-on-a-certain-anime-featuring-a-cat-eared-heavy-smoker-after-viewers-complain-about-problematic-content\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260807-70784-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1025\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"567\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber V\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Japanese ethics watchdog deliberates on a \u201ccertain anime featuring a cat-eared heavy smoker\u201d after viewers complain about problematic content - 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Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/amber-vjestica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70788,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70784\/revisions\/70788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}