The Japanese video-sharing website “Niconico” announced on November 8th with immediate effect that it would be suspending payments for premium memberships made through certain Mastercards, alongside payment registrations for channels.
This matter sparked outrage social media, with Japanese netizens speculating that Niconico’s suspension of Mastercard payments might be related to a disagreement between Niconico’s parent company, Dwango, and Mastercard.
Though wary Japanese individuals would lean more towards the favor of western credit card companies such as VISA and MasterCard are once again oppressing Japanese customers by outright blocking payments made to alleged “controversial” Japanese platforms such as how MasterCard had previously blocked payments made on FANZA.
Operated by DMM.com, FANZA is a major Japanese online entertainment and e-commerce company that provides a subscription-based service that allows users to access a large library of adult videos and other content.
The reason as to why MasterCard blocked FANZA is quite clear, western sensibilities in regards to fictional drawings being incorrectly perceived as being “pedophilic”, where adult oriented content made by the Japanese are deemed controversial which is why most domestic platforms and services seemingly refuse to accept foreign payment processors entirely, to avoid such events from happening.
MasterCard are notoriously strict on content regulation, it’s highly speculated that it was due to the popularity of eiz5963’s video titled “汚い仔猫を見つけたので虐待することにした(1匹目)” which translates as Found a Dirty Kitten, So I Decided to Abuse It (First One).
Obviously, such a name as that sounds quite wrong, but the Niconico video itself was actually just clickbait. It was a loving video showcasing careful cleaning of a stray kitten, it had managed to garner over three million views on the Niconico platform.
It’s speculated that MasterCard deemed the video title to be problematic, taking it literally and requested Dwango remove it citing it as illicit / illegal animal abuse content, the video was removed obviously in a bid of compliance to avoid credit card transaction restrictions, it was there that they had attempted renegotiating to restore the video on the platform, you can imagine that such a sheer view count would obviously be bringing in ad revenue of sorts.
On October 7, 2023, we received a message from the Nico Nico management. “Thank you for always using Nico Nico. This time, we received a request from the credit card brand (Mastercard) to make certain video content on our service private. As a result, we have taken the following measures:
Response: Make the targeted content private
Reason for action: Following a request from the credit card brand (Mastercard), there are videos containing animal abuse, child abuse, self-harm, and inappropriate adult content, which are considered illegal or damaging to the brand.
Targeted content: Decided to abuse a dirty kitten (1st) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm24461077
Supplementary information: In this case, we have not implemented a certain period of video posting restrictions. In cases where there are indications or requests from credit card brands, it is at the discretion of the credit card brand to restrict credit card use across Nico Nico.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. However, regarding this case, we are skeptical about the accuracy of the content indicated by the credit card brand. Therefore, we will request confirmation of the facts and a reexamination of the content from the credit card brand. If the credit card brand requests a withdrawal of the response, we will contact you again and restore the video.
However, the decision to restore the video or not is at the discretion of the credit card brand. Please understand that we cannot promise a specific date for video restoration or response from our company. If you have any objections or inquiries regarding this response, please contact the Nico Nico administrator using the form below within three days, including the date of receiving this notice.”
It’s very unfortunate. Shiro is still smart, kind, well-behaved, and healthy.
These discussions broke down leading to the refusal of transactions with MasterCard, given how Nico Nico cites this as being “temporary”, but these events are merely taken with a grain of salt. Nobody really knows what’s going on exactly apart from the kitten rescue video being taken down coinciding with the refusal of MasterCard payments.
Just as how DMM terminated its contract with MasterCard over alleged intervening of content features on FANZA, something very similar may have happened to Nico Nico Douga.
Nevertheless, the Japanese despise the concept of being denied access to consume their beloved media, especially by foreign entities and tyrants, as many Japanese netizens have begun to open their eyes to the reality that western influences are negatively affecting Japanese culture and customs.
In response to this development, a Japanese individual has garnered nearly 20K likes in under a week with a Tweet advocating for a shift to the domestic credit card brand JCB.
In Japan, JCB holds the second position in market share, accounting for 30%, while VISA leads with a 50% market share.
This suggestion comes as Japan stands among the select three countries with its own credit card brands, the others being the USA and China. Although JCB support beyond Japan may be limited, users discussed its suitability for domestic transactions and viewed it as a means to curb reliance upon foreign financial services and the influence those foreign corporations instill upon Japan.
