The story
During World War II, the government of Japan censored films. The job of censoring was the responsibility of the Interior Ministry's Police Bureau. In time censorship was subsumed with the motions picture law of 1939.
The Motion Picture Code of Ethics Committee (映画倫理規程管理委員会, Eiga Rinri Kitei Kanri Iinkai) was established on 14 June 1949 and was the predecessor to Eirin. The organization was criticized for hiring examiners who were part of the same movie industry that financed the organization, resulting in a conflict of interest. There was also criticism of the content of some films which came out at the time, such as Nikkatsu's Season of the Sun based on the award-winning book by Shintaro Ishihara.
In response to the criticism, Eirin began to bring in outsiders to join the commission in 1956 and reorganized into a self-financing, independent body. At that time, it also changed its name to Eirin Kanri Iinkai, and is the foundation of today's rating body.
Early ratings set
On June 14, 1949, The "Motion Picture Code of Ethics" is established, and the "Motion Picture Code of Ethics Administration Committee" (the original Eirin) is launched. On August 1954, the "Film Ethics Code Administration Committee", acting in accordance with the "Film Ethics Code" when it was first established, began classifying films as either Youth Film (青少年向映画, Seishōnen Muki Eiga) or Adult Film (成人向映画, Seijin Kō Eiga). When the film Season of the Sun released on May 17, 1956, after being designated as an Adult Film under the existing system, it sparked controversy across the country, ultimately forcing the dissolution of the "Film Ethics Code Administration Committee". On December of that same year, the "Film Ethics Administration Committee", the precursor to the current Eirin (Film Ethics Organization), was established as a body independent of the film industry, marking a move toward radical reform. Starting in 1957, the ratings were renamed General Rating and Adult Rating.
General Rating (一般指定, Ippan Shitei): Patrons of all ages are admitted.
Adult Rating (成人指定, Seijin Shitei): Patrons under 18 years old are prohibited from admission.
Introduction of Limited General Film rating
After the controversy surrounding the release of the erotic drama film Emmanuelle in 1974, calls for a rating between General and Adult were raised. Later in 1976, the R rating, which means "Limited General Film" was introduced.
General Rating (一般指定, Ippan Shitei): Patrons of all ages are admitted.
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Limited General Film (一般映画制限付, Ippan Eiga Seigen-tsuki): Patrons under 15 years old and junior high schoolers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. However, most theaters prohibited admission of patrons under 15 and junior high schoolers, thus in the following year, the rating became fully restrictive.
Adult Rating (成人指定, Seijin Shitei): Patrons under 18 years old are prohibited from admission.
Introduction of PG-12 rating
A series of non-Japanese horror films depicting violent scenes have led to concerns about their impact on children. And since similar ratings already existed outside of Japan, the PG-12 rating was introduced on May 1998, and the existing ratings were renamed.
General (一般, Ippan): There is no age rating. Anyone may view it, regardless of age.
: Some parts of the viewing experience are not suitable for children under the age of 12 (elementary school age or younger). Please have a parent or guardian accompany them whenever possible.
: This content is not suitable for viewers under the age of 15 (junior high school age or younger) and cannot be viewed by them.
: This content is not suitable for viewers under the age of 18 and cannot be viewed by them.
Ratings requirements change
The Eirin Management Committee (Sonroku Ide as president), a third-party organization that pre-screens films shown in theaters, announced on April 23, 2009 that it will revise the notation used to define age-based admission restrictions and other restrictions starting in May. Eirin explained that the change from minus signs to plus signs was made to emphasize the recommendation of viewing based on age, rather than prohibition or restriction. They distributed posters to movie theaters nationwide to raise awareness. And have newly established the "Courtesy of Film Ethics", which proclaims freedom of expression and clearly articulates the screening criteria. The committee also announced that its official name will be changed to "Film Ethics Committee" at May 1st, and that it will publish the review results on its website and expand the scope of its review activities. On May 1, 2009, the ratings were revised and R15+ do not require school level to be admitted anymore.
From Wikipedia’s article on Eirin, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4