Tokyo District Court Orders Former Owner of Japanese Manga Piracy Site “Mangamura” to pay Japanese publishers Shogakukan, Shueisha and Kadokawa the sum of 1.7 billion yen (more than 11 million US dollars). Press releases reported that this is the largest amount of money a judge has ever ordered to be paid in damages in a Japanese piracy case.
The companies sued “Mangamura” in 2022 for 1.9 million yen, a figure calculated on the estimated damages from the piracy of 441 volumes of a total of 17 mangas. Among these mangas were “One Piece”, “Kingdom”, “YAWARA!”, “Dorohedoro”, “Overlord”, “Sgt. Frog”, “Wise Man’s Grandchild”, “The Rising of the Shield Hero”, “Trinity Seven”, “Hinamatsuri”, “Erased”, “Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation”, “Golden Rough”, “Kanojo wa Uso wo Ai Shisugiteru”, “Karakuri Circus”, “Kengan Ashura” and “Tasogare Ryuuseigun”.
The publishers alleged that the alleged owner of the site, identified as Romi Hoshino alias “Zakay Romi,” earned income from advertising within the site. He Defendant alleged that he did not operate the site, but rather was responsible for the development and management of the system.
The Fukuoka District Court handed down a conviction in June 2021 against the defendant for copyright infringement and concealment of criminal proceeds. Hoshino, who was 29 years old at the time, was sentenced to three years in prison, a fine of 10 million yen (about 91 thousand dollars) and an additional fine of 62 million yen (about 565 thousand dollars), derived from the income obtained from the site and deposited in a foreign account.
On the other hand, “Mangamura” is a Japanese manga piracy site that was launched in 2016. Authorities revealed that they had been investigating the site since May 2018, after the publishers filed criminal complaints. Although some might consider the arrest of the Japanese “Mangamura” operator irrelevant to those who consume anime and manga piracy in the West, this perception may not be founded.
Many of the leaks of anime and manga content originate in Japan, meaning that piracy in the Asian country can have a direct impact on the supply of illegal content internationally. Therefore, this “Mangamura” case and its legal resolution could have broader implications for those involved in anime and manga piracy outside of Japan.
Fountain: NIKKEI NEWS
