There are a lot of ways to try and teach younger audiences about things like traffic safety or the best way to ride a bike and not get hurt but one police department in Japan decided to get creative. The Matsudo City Police Department collaborated with VTuber Rika Tosada to create several videos about these kinds of topics but they sparked outrage with one women’s rights group.
The Feminist Parliamentary League raised complaints about the videos due to the “misogyny” they presented. This included things like Tosada’s “sailor-uniform-like attire,” “exposed navel,” and her “moving breasts.” While the videos were removed from the Matsudo YouTube account, the videos remain up on VASE’s channel — a VTuber group Tosada works with.
It doesn’t seem that fans are willing to take this move sitting down either. Setsuko Itakura, the CEO of VASE, published her own press release about the event and started a petition to bring the videos back to the channel. The petition currently has over 34,700 signatures and brings up several points against the Feminist Parliamentary League’s issues with the videos.
“Why do you conclude that VTuber’s ‘short clothes’ and ‘big breasts’ are immediately ‘sexual objects?’ Please explain the clear mechanism why VTuber’s awareness of traffic safety in the area leads to ‘induction of sex crimes.'”
While there’s no word yet on if the videos will return to the Matsudo YouTube, those interested to see the now controversial safety PSAs can see one example below.
