The Japanese Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) is slamming Japanese TV companies for the violence and “sexual expressions” that are filling the Japanese airwaves.

BPO, the broadcasting industry’s own advisory body on ethical matters especially criticized the prevalence and increasing cruelty of the so-called “batsu geemu,” literally “punishment game,” a distinctively Japanese phenomenon where the participants, usually comedians or celebrities, are subject to the wackiest of schemes, ending in corporal or otherwise humiliating punishment.

Several examples of the ingenious punishment games can be found in comedy duo Downtown’s popular Nippon Television show “Gaki no tsukai ya arahen de,” in which participants are regularly exposed to bizarre challenges where the loser becomes the subject to a “batsu geemu.” The “don’t laugh!”-series, where several show regulars are forced to spend 24 hours at some bizarre location where they are the constant butt of practical jokes, is probably among the show’s most popular. The series’ premise? If you laugh, you get beaten up.

The trouble is, BPO criticisms are just guidelines, which broadcasters are free to ignore, which they normally do. “If our demands are repeatedly ignored, people will start to question media’s ability to regulate itself, which could result in demands for legislation,” the committee warned.