Is viewing/possession of such cartoons really criminal behaviour? Conviction carries the very harsh penalty of a mandatory minimum jail sentence and registration as a sex offender. “Animated child porn is very difficult to prosecute because how can we say if the animated figures in the cartoons are under 18? The Crown has been typically more lenient with Japanese adults caught with cartoon child pornography in Canada because of the discrepancy in laws between our two countries. When it’s Japanese people, we just take it away from them and tell them not to do it anymore but when it’s locals that are collecting it, that’s kind of creepy and we charge them.”
There is a huge disparity between how Canada and Japan are treating anime child porn.
Source: Criminalizing Cartoons: How the Law Is Dealing with Anime Child Pornography in Canada | VICE | Canada