The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the California-based non-profit organization behind Anime Expo, announced on Friday that it will launch the Youth Protection Program for this year’s convention.
The Youth Protection Program mascot, Chikara, will be featured at every SafeSpace and promote the new policies.
SPJA adopted its Youth Protection Policy on April 14, and the policy’s training videos and resources are available on a new website.
The policy does not state if those who must submit to a criminal background check will need to pay for it themselves.