Japanese Retailer Suruga-ya Delists All 18+ Manga And Video Games Due To Issues “With Partner Companies Regarding Payment Methods For Adult Products”
In yet another unfortunate victory for the world’s growing puritanical movement, major Japanese retailer Suruga-ya has announced that thanks to a number of credit card companies taking issue with their selling of adult manga and video games, they will be delisting all of their ‘offending’ merchandise from their online storefront until they can find a proper solution to the situation.
Operating multiple physical storefronts across Japan, Suruga-ya serves as a sort of ‘one stop’ hobby shop for nerds of all stripes, their inventory of new and used items (as traded in by customers) ranging from plastic models, to anime merchandise, to even singles for various trading games like Magic: The Gathering and, of course, Pokémon.
And while nowhere near the focal point of their operations, the company also sells a variety of ‘mature’ media, in particular video games and manga both official and fan-made (a.k.a. doujinishi).
That was until May 19th, when out of nowhere, customers discovered that Suruga-ya’s adult-oriented merchandise had completely disappeared from their online storefront.
At the time, the company claimed that these delistings were the result of “system maintenance”, but on May 20th, both Talos Systems, the company responsible for operating and maintaining the retailer’s point-of-sale software of choice, and Suruga-ya admitted that there was more to the situation than they initially claimed.
“As of May 19, 2025, the sales pages for adult-oriented products on the Suruga-ya.jp website (order site) have been temporarily closed,” wrote Talos Systems, as machine translated by ChatGPT. “Since there is currently no estimated date for restoration, all linked functions related to listing and order processing for Suruga-ya are unavailable. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to customers who have contracts involving Suruga-ya integration, and we appreciate your understanding.”
In their own statement, the retailer explained, “Since its founding, Suruga-ya has upheld a customer-first philosophy as its core business principle and has strived to provide a platform for the free exchange of all types of creative works” before revealing, “The items in question have been handled from the same perspective as other products. However, a situation has arisen that requires discussions with partner companies regarding payment methods for adult products.”
“At this time, because we are prioritizing keeping our customers informed, we are unable to provide a clear timeline for when the site will reopen,” they then admitted. “As a result, we have decided to temporarily shut down the site. We are aiming to resume operations as soon as possible and will work through consultations with relevant business partners to establish specific handling rules for the affected products and build a new operational structure. We will provide updates promptly should there be any developments.”
Per above, this is far from the first time a Japanese company was forced to remove adult content from their respective websites and/or storefronts, with previously-struck entities including the art-centric social media platform Nico Nico Shunga, the online out-of-print manga repository Manga Library Z, and popular doujinshi outlet Melonbooks.
As to why various credit companies have begun to clutch their pearls over adult content, Visa’s Head of Product in the Asia Pacific region Cietan Kitney confirmed in December 2024 that, at least on their end, this attitude shift came about because the company had decided that “sometimes it is necessary to disallow it to protect the brand.”
“The reality is that this is a complex decision involving both global and local policies,” he added, “and it is also important to maintain integrity and integrity, and we will continue to do so.”
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