i think it's the opposite in some ways. i mean, it's definitely only one sliver, but i think americans latch onto it because it's different to our home grown pedophilia. or at least the ones who are criticizing it do. it's like how fish don't realize they live underwater, a lot of people don't realize how fucked up their own cultural stuff is because they're submerged in it. but seeing japan's fairly different approach to pedophilia is easier, because you're an outside observer.

now obviously this isn't to say loli shit isn't an issue. even though most anime like that is super niche, and much of it is less popular in japan than overseas, there is still a thriving community of loli artists. mostly they make money with merch and physical media sales, so they can afford to pander to a very specific audience (pedophiles), but that does go to show it isn't as universal a problem in japan as people seem to think.