1 Tokyo police arrested four men, including a controversial photographer, on Monday for selling 69,000 copies of an allegedly pornographic book.
2 The book violated pornography laws because it contained close-up, graphic photos of pubic hair, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department official said.
3 Though strictly banned for decades, eased enforcement of pornography laws has led to a wide circulation of such books, which have been dubbed 'heah-nudo,' or hair nudes.
4 Monday's arrests could indicate a restrengthening of the anti-porno regulations. The arrests were the first specifically related to this offense, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
5 Arrested were Noriaki Kano, a 52-year-old photographer, Ippei Takahashi, 50, president of Takeshobo Inc. a publishing firm in Tokyo, and two other Takeshobo officials, police said.
6 Monday's arrests followed a warning against Kano regarding photos carried in a monthly magazine, also published by Takeshobo, last July. Last month, police raided Kano's offices and the publishing firm and seized dozens of copies of the photo collection.
7 Violators of the indecency law face up to two years imprisonment or a fine of 2.5 million yen (dlrs 25,000).

Tokyo police arrested four men , including a controversial photographer , on Monday for selling 69 , 000 copies of an allegedly pornographic book .
controversial
What makes the photographer controversial?