Mapplethorpe OKd in Japan
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Japan’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a collection of erotic photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe does not violate obscenity laws, a decision that should allow the sale of the book for the first time in eight years.
The decision overturned a 2003 Tokyo High Court ruling that the book “Mapplethorpe” was indecent, court spokesman Takashi Ando said. It was believed to be the first time the top court has overruled a lower court ruling on obscenity.
The court, however, rejected publisher Takashi Asai’s demand for government compensation of $20,370, Ando said. Asai, of Uplink publishers, had been fighting a 1999 confiscation of the book and his voluntary 2000 suspension of its sales after police warnings.
Mapplethorpe died of AIDS at age 42 in March 1989, but his images, including human bodies, sex and nudity, have remained controversial.
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