News On Japan

Japanese publishers to sue illegal manga website

Nov 15 (NHK) - Major publishers in Japan are preparing to file a criminal complaint against the operator of one of the largest illegal manga-viewing websites in the country.

A US court decision has now allowed them to identify the operator.

Four publishers, including Shueisha, have accused the pirate website "Manga Bank" of infringing on copyrights. They say the operator posted all the pages of their comic books and magazines on the website without permission.

Shueisha asked a US court in October to instruct Google and other Internet firms to disclose information about the operator. It wanted the operator's name, address, phone number, IP address and other data.

Last Friday, the court reportedly ordered the Internet platforms to disclose the relevant information.

Illegal manga websites emerged as a major problem in the publishing industry around four years ago.

A website named "Manga-mura," or manga village, was once the largest illegal manga site in Japan. In June, its operator was sentenced to three years in prison for copyright violations and other actions.

Manga Bank then replaced Manga-mura. The site was accessed about 81 million times in one month. But it was closed early in November.

The four publishers plan to file a damages lawsuit in addition to the criminal complaint.

A Shueisha official, Ito Atsushi, says it is the role of a publisher to protect works that authors devoted themselves to creating, and to offer them to readers in a proper form. Ito has pledged to fight against piracy websites.

One of the lawyers for the publishers, Nakajima Hiroyuki, says operators of piracy websites can be identified by taking legal steps, even if they use overseas servers.

He added that he hopes taking legal action in the Manga Bank case will help deter people from operating illegal websites.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Flooding has reached the temporary housing in Wajima City, built for earthquake victims, and volunteers have begun clearing the mud starting on September 24.

A Japanese government spokesperson says a Russian military airplane entered Japanese airspace three times on Monday. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has conveyed his country's intention to maintain support for Ukraine to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (NHK)

Seven people are dead in the wake of torrential downpours in Japan's central Ishikawa Prefecture that have caused rivers to flood and mudslides across the Noto region. Some people living in temporary shelters following the New Year's Day earthquake are once again facing recovery efforts, this time from flooding. (NHK)

Signs of winter are already arriving. Mount Rishiri in Hokkaido recorded the first snowfall of the season on Sunday, making it the first observed in Japan this year.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attacking a female university student by covering her head with a bag and attempting to strangle her.

A group of Humboldt penguins at Tokuyama Zoo in Yamaguchi Prefecture has captured people's hearts, as they chase a butterfly that had accidentally flown into their pool enclosure.

A man in his 30s was stabbed in the chest at an anime song event in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture on Sunday, leaving the victim serious injured.

Tokyo has launched an official matchmaking app in an effort to increase the number of marriages, particularly as the city struggles with the lowest birthrate in Japan.

A search for 'breast pump' 「搾乳機」on YouTube returns numerous videos with titles like 'Introduction to Breast Pumping.' But what exactly are these videos?

Four high school students, aged 16 to 18, have been arrested on suspicion of injuring a third-year junior high school boy in a park in Machida City, Tokyo, in May of this year.

A fire broke out at a shrine in Ami-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture, burning a sacred tree over 500 years old, with police investigating the cause as a lightning strike.

A regional headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard has arrested the head of the operating company of a sightseeing boat that sank off the coast of Hokkaido, northern Japan, in 2022. (NHK)