It’s no secret that Steam hosts a vast number of adult games, with over three thousand tagged as “hentai.” Most of these games are developed by Japanese creators. However, these developers are facing a significant hurdle—they can’t get paid for their work.
Japanese politician Taro Yamada recently highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) that banks in Japan are blocking developers from receiving their earnings from Steam and other foreign platforms for adult content games.
If a game is classified as adult content, banks simply cancel transactions coming from abroad. Additionally, Japanese companies involved in adult games often find it impossible to open bank accounts.
In response, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Financial Services Agency have launched investigations. The banks, however, claim they are acting within the law, arguing that the funds fall under the category of “sponsoring criminal activities or receiving income from them”2. Despite hentai being legal in Japan, banks assert that selling it overseas results in ill-gotten gains.
Yamada-sensei mentioned on his podcast that Japanese laws can be interpreted in the same way the banks have done, and the nuances of Steam’s operations are not considered
