It's no surprise that a city, or even the whole country, would spruce itself up a bit before hosting a massive worldwide event such as the Olympics. I remember firsthand how hectic London was around 2011; new buildings were being erected regularly, old ones were being improved and the aesthetics of the city were generally made more appealing before millions of people from all over the world flocked to the country for 2012's Summer Olympics. Not to mention how Brazil famously went through some extensive urban renovation before 2016's Games were hosted in Rio de Janeiro.

So how is Japan getting ready for the next year's Tokyo Olympics? By pulling porn from shelves. 7-Eleven, which has around 20,000 outlets in Japan, and Lawson, which have about 14,000, have both confirmed their intention to stop selling adult material by the end of the year.

A spokesman for 7-Eleven said to Reuters:

“In the past, 7-Eleven was mostly used by male customers to buy beverages and fast food, and our product assortment was designed accordingly,” the chain said in an email to Reuters.

“However, as the role and usage of 7-Eleven stores has changed in recent years, 7-Eleven became an important shopping destination for families, children and elder people as well.

“In order to create a proper shopping environment for all our customers, we decided to stop handling sales of adult magazines.

We all know how...liberal Japan can be with its adult content, but I for one think this is justified. If you had important guests coming around that could be bringing children, you definitely wouldn't want to leave your printed copy of, say, Because of My Mother's Big Tits I Can't Control Myself lying around in the open. Besides, the internet exists, providing much more options for fap material than you'd ever get on a magazine rack, while also being environmentally friendlier, cheaper and more discreet. Then again, as a person that collects manga I'd have to admit that owning a printed copy does feel a lot more "genuine" than looking at it online, at the cost of being less durable. I'm sure the same goes for porn, but durability is still an important factor when you take fluids into consideration, if you know what I mean.

Do you think they're right in taking porn out of stores or should it be displayed loud and proud? Let us know in the comments!