In a rather startling move, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Wednesday submitted a first of its kind resolution in the Punjab Assembly calling for a ban on famous Japanese anime series Doraemon.
PTI legislator Malik Taimoor Masood urged Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to impose a ban on Doraemon or limit its airtime as it contains explicit content which has a bad impact on children.
The legislator argued that 24-hour cartoon channels are adversely affecting the educational and physical growth of children. The resolution also claims the language used in cartoons run on channels is damaging societal norms. The resolution will be discussed in the next PA session.
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series and is dubbed in Hindi for viewers in Pakistan and India. The anime series revolves around a robotic cat named Doraemon and a young boy Nobita. It is aired on various cartoon channels.
Here’s how people reacted to the news:
The move comes after Ashish Chaturvedi, the whistleblower of India’s biggest education scam, voiced concerns against two of the world’s most famous Japanese cartoon characters – Doraemon and Shin Chan. Chatuvardi feels the adverse psychological impacts of the two Hindi and English dubbed ‘violent’ cartoons are grappling a whole generation of kids across India and the world, according to the Times of India.
Chaturvedi is seeking a ban on the telecast of the two Japanese cartoons as he claims several medial reports highlight mental abuse and other serious adverse impact of these cartoons on kids.
Further, in 2014, Chinese newspapers cautioned their countrymen against Doraemon saying, Beware of this “blue fatty” — the Japanese are exporting their values through him. According to The New York Times, three major newspapers in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, fired accusations against Doraemon for its “political overtones” and being a tool of Japan’s “cultural invasion.”
Japan’s former foreign minister, Masahiko Komura, appointed Doraemon an “anime ambassador” in 2008 in the hope that the character would deepen the world’s understanding of the country.
Acknowledgment: The whole content above is borrowed from Express Tribune
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1155119/pti-submits-resolution-japanese-cartoon-punjab-assembly/
About Doraemon in Pakistan
Doraemon is a Japanese animated character and cartoon series which is very popular worldwide. In Pakistan Doraemon is not televised on any channel. However it is televised after dubbing it in Hindi on the Indian channel for kids Disney India. Disney India is also aired in Pakistan and all of its series are widely watched by kids in Pakistan.
Indian content be it Bollywood films, reality shows, television dramas, award shows are widely watched in Pakistan and are popular among youngsters and adults alike. Indian content in Pakistan is aired on the Indian entertainment channels (like Star Plus, Colors, Zee, Sony) as well as the Pakistani entertainment channels (like Geo Kahani, ARY Zindagi, Hum Sitaray, Express Entertainment, Filmazia). Like the elders the kids are also fond of watching the Indian content available for kids in the Hindi language on the channels like Cartoon Network, Pogo and Disney India. The series like Doraemon, Chota Bheem, Best of Luck Nikki are popular in Pakitsan.
Rashid Nazir Ali