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Loli-con, or Rorikon (ロリコン) is the Japanese (or Engrish) term for "Lolita complex" (derived from the novel Lolita), the sexual attraction to fictional and real underage girls. It is used to refer to anime, manga, and other visual forms of art that contain sexual/erotic representations of underage girls, and also to refer to people who are sexually attracted to fictional and real underage girls (and who are not themselves underage).
"Complex" is abbreviated as "con", rather tham "com", because Japanese words can't end in an "m", but can end in a "n" (simplified).
Generally speaking, loli-con's lolitas are older than 12 and younger than 16 and this is mostly outside the clinical definition of pedophilia which defines it as 13 years old or younger. Also, in general, anime and manga tend to draw a child older, almost as a teen, and a teen and an adult younger. Many artists draw a character that are hard to tell the real age not because of lack of skills, because that is their style. Yet because and despite this, it is usually confused with pedophilia with obvious result. Those people who are loli-con are believed by opponents of the child pornography to have a tendency to act violently against children or to prefer sex with children to adults. The fact that despite Japan producing most of loli-con materials, violence against Children and teens are well below that of those countries with explicit laws prohibiting the child pornography goes unnoticed. Those younger than 12, most notably Sakura from CCS have also been a focus by loli-con minded people but this is an exception rather than a norm.
In Japan, all materials whose main contents deal with sex and published by companies, are censored and limited to sale to an adult 20 years or older. Those drawn and printed by private individuals are not censored and generally not persecuted. The materials made by latter may contain detailed and extreme sexual acts that are not wise for uninitiated to see. Those made by individuals, are technically sold in stores as a 'recycled' which make them outside of censorship laws.
Fictional sexual drawings involving upper teens, 18 and 19 years old, which in some countries falls under child pornography, is not regarded as loli-con. Those of middle teens, 15, 16, and 17 years old, which in most countries are considered child pornography, are forbidden under censorship laws. Yet those with similar but imaginary terms that may or may not point to this age group are still permitted to be printed. This is the constant source of international outrage as this is seen as a loophole permitting pictures of underaged girls to be printed.
While child pornography proponents push for outlawing loli-con materials is based on the welfare of children, it is questionable that these materials that never have any connection with a child unless they are sold to, which is illegal, could make a life of children better. Those that defend loli-con from the cultural point claim that while pedophiles and child pornographies "kill the pretty flower to enjoy", loli-con "watch and observe, but never touch".
Shota-con is the underage-boy equivalent of loli-con.
See also: hentai, child pornography