By Dashiell Bennett, 1:09 PM on Fri Mar 7 2008, 2,546 views (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

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The government may not be happy about this, but Japan's high court has ruled that naughty penis photos can actually be art—or more specifically a Robert Mapplethorpe book that has been banned several times in the past. Naturally, this news comes courtesy of our favorite source for Japanese male genitalia updates ... The Economist. (economist.com, photo via tribecafinearts.com - thanks Zach)