Photographer, gallerist arrested in Tokyo on obscenity charges

The Tokyo-based Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee has been arrested in Tokyo on obscenity charges, it was reported Feb 4. Internationally known for his celebrity portraits of music icons like Yumi Matsutoya, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, as well as for sexually charged photographs of male models, Kee is currently holding an exhibition of photographs at the gallery hiromiyoshii roppongi. Along with the gallery director, Hiromi Yoshii, and another member of the gallery staff, Kee is accused of selling books that violate Japan’s obscenity laws against the distribution, sale or public display of obscene writings, pictures or other materials. According to reports, Yoshii admits to having sold the books but denies that they are in violation of the obscenity laws. The books in question reportedly feature more than 50 pages of exposed male genitalia. Typically in Japan, images of genitalia are pixelated or otherwise obscured in order for pornographic content to circumvent the obscenity laws.

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