As Japanese manga is gaining popularity around the world, the damage caused by pirated sites that publish works translated into foreign languages ​​without permission is becoming more serious. Even on official stores that distribute apps for smartphones and other devices, multiple illegal apps in foreign languages ​​that lead people to pirated versions have been confirmed, and industry groups say that countermeasures are necessary.

ABJ, a general incorporated association made up of publishers, conducted a survey in February this year and found that there were 1,207 pirated sites that posted manga and other publications without permission, of which 913 sites, more than 70%, were in English. It turned out that it was a foreign language site that collected works translated into languages ​​such as ``Japanese'' and Vietnamese.



According to ABJ, the number of accesses to Japanese pirated sites has decreased to about a quarter of what it was at one time due to countermeasures taken by publishers, but foreign language sites have expanded in recent years, mainly in Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian languages. It is estimated that the number of accesses is at least five times that of the Japanese version, and the amount of damage caused by copyright infringement is also significantly higher.



In addition, illegal apps in foreign languages ​​that lead people to pirated versions have become an issue, and according to the major publisher KADOKAWA, in February last year, the official stores operated by Google and Apple released manga translated into foreign languages. At least five pirated apps have been confirmed.



Distribution of apps on official stores requires that they do not infringe on copyrights, and the publishers have taken legal procedures and these apps have been deleted. According to CODA (Contents Overseas Distribution Promotion Agency), the official store displays different apps depending on the country or region, so it is difficult to grasp the actual status of foreign language versions.



Recently, CODA has received complaints about pirated apps from electronic publishing companies aiming to distribute official editions overseas, and CODA says that countermeasures are necessary.

The current state of damage caused by pirated sites

According to a February survey by ABJ, there were 1,207 pirated sites that posted manga and other publications without permission.



Of these


, 294 sites were in Japanese, while


913 sites were translated into foreign languages.



By language, English has the largest number of sites at 466, but there are also many other languages ​​such as Chinese, Russian, and Spanish, and the number of sites that appear to be aimed at Southeast Asia, such as Vietnamese, is increasing significantly. about it.



In the second half of 2021, the number of accesses to Japanese pirated sites exceeded 400 million for the top 10 sites, but the number has recently increased due to the closure of large sites, the exposure of operators, and the spread of awareness of the problem. has decreased to about 100 million.



On the other hand, the foreign language version continues to have a large number of sites and accesses.



The amount of damage caused by so-called "free reading" was estimated to be 381.8 billion yen in the Japanese version last year, but the foreign language version is expected to significantly exceed this amount, and industry groups are calling it an urgent issue. .

Expert: ``Take measures to expose operators, including criminal penalties''

Attorney Hiroyuki Nakajima, who is familiar with copyright and pirated issues, says, ``There are huge English-language pirated sites that receive more than 200 million hits per month, and there are also sites that restrict access from Japan to avoid detection. ``apps are also a problem, and if they are distributed on a legitimate platform, some people may mistakenly download them thinking they are legitimate apps.''



He added, ``Anime and manga are popular all over the world, and it is a very big problem that the profits that rights holders would normally earn through legitimate business are lost to pirated copies. It is important to take measures with the goal of exposing criminals and imposing criminal penalties."