Japan’s plan to fight pirate websites

[Len]

Being able to view this material all too easily not only hurts the profits earned by writers, but also could lead to the decay of the nation’s publishing culture.

Pirate websites, on which people can read popular manga, novels and other material for free online, are becoming an increasingly serious problem. There reportedly have even been cases in which a weekly manga magazine has been posted on such a website before the print version went on sale.

These websites post manga and other material that has been digitized without the author’s permission. This clearly violates the Copyright Law.

Readers pay the author and in return, they can enjoy their work. That income benefits the author, which encourages them to write their next work. Websites carrying pirated content are fomenting a danger that could destroy the foundations of the nation’s publishing culture.

The Japan Cartoonists Association announced its view on this matter, saying, “If this situation continues unaddressed, various aspects of Japan’s culture will be sapped of their vitality and could eventually perish.” Considering the current situation in which illegal sites are rampant, it is natural that authors feel they must act with a sense of urgency.

Last year, a joint investigation headquarters established by nine prefectural police forces, including those of Osaka and Kanagawa, arrested the operators of a website suspected of violating the Copyright Law. The operators had developed “leech websites” on a mass scale that guided users to web pages containing uploaded manga.

About 14 million people viewed the website each month. It is estimated to have caused manga creators losses of more than ¥400 billion.

Of course, it is important that the police steadily bust such websites, but there are limits to what this approach can achieve.

Onus also on users

To get rid of websites providing pirated content, authorities should consider such steps as deterring the posting of advertisements that are an income source. In some other nations, authorities block internet connections to websites offering material that violates copyright.

The government’s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters should work closely with copyright and internet analysis experts, and quickly compile effective measures to counter online piracy.

Internet users who visit pirate websites also must wake up to the fact that they themselves are reinforcing the harm being done to manga culture.

The proliferation of smartphones and tablets has led to a surge in people of all ages viewing these websites. The ease with which these websites can be browsed has apparently made many people feel barely any sense of guilt.

Educational activities to raise awareness of pirated content’s illegality will be essential. Hopefully many people will listen closely to the plaintive appeals made by manga artists and other authors.

Japanese manga and anime are popular overseas. It cannot be denied that websites providing pirated content have also ended up played a role in conveying the charms of Japanese subculture to the world.

Be that as it may, if these websites jeopardize the foundation of the earnings structure for these writers and the creative activities of these subculture flag-bearers, and they can no longer make ends meet, it would be the opposite of what is desired. More efforts are needed to ensure Japan’s precious culture is shared with the world in sensible ways.