Japanese Man Faces 5 Years In PRISON For Anime Piracy Website

Who knew way back in the 2000’s when nobody thought the internet (or piracy) could get so big, that it would eventually lead to so many arrests, warrants, sentences and even prison.

Not even Kiss Anime, known as the biggest anime pirate before it shut down, not even they were sentenced to jail and in fact avoided it.

But this has changed for tonnes of piracy owners since Japan passed copyright legislation in January 2021.

 

3,300+ pirated movies

Anime Nervous Sweating Arataka

The pirate in question was arrested in Japan and sentenced for 5 years straight for having over 3,300+ pieces of pirated content.

Some of this content was western movies, some of it was local Japanese content (like anime for example).

QUOTE:

“A man suspected of operating a piracy site offering links to over 3,300 local and Western movies has been arrested in Japan. The 51-year-old, suspected of infringing the copyrights of companies including Bandai Namco and King Records, told police that he simply wanted to share his love of movies with others. Under local law, he faces up to five years in prison.”

Followed by:

“The suspect, a 51-year-old unemployed man, was arrested in Asahi Town, Yamagata Prefecture. He is being investigated for copyright infringement offenses and is said to have generated revenue from advertising. In comments to police, he said that his love for movies made him want to share.”

Courtesy of Torrent Freak.

 

5 years for wanting to “share” movies with everyone

I’ve talked about the issue of piracy over the years and I’ve stirred up conversations as a result. Some of them, which blew up on Reddit and other platforms.

Even though Japan has gone a lot harder since their new piracy laws in January 2021, that doesn’t mean their actions on behalf of anime companies is a smart idea.

The truth is, it’s stupid. The harder you fight piracy, the more it starts to pop up again. That’s why there’s so many of these cases lately and so many arrests.

It’s proof that it isn’t working or else the arrests (and the sites) would stop.

Say it with me now: Piracy is a service problem. And these arrests won’t fix it. It’s a waste of energy.

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