Japan sees first arrest for running an anime and film “spoiler site”
Japanese police arrested three men on October 29 on suspicion of violating copyright laws by hosting a so-called “spoiler site” for anime and films (source: Sendai Television Incorporated).
The three men who were arrested are the CEO, employee and a freelancer of a company in Tokyo. Between January 2024 and February 2024, they allegedly ran a website where they posted digests of anime and films using snapshots of scenes and textual transcripts of dialogue.
By doing so without permission from the rightsholders, the three are suspected of infringing on the copyrights of a total of 12 companies for the purpose of earning ad revenue. Some of the titles named in the case are Godzilla Minus One, Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle and Overlord.
Japanese publisher Kadokawa released a statement regarding the case, revealing that it joined forces with Godzilla franchise-owner Toho to file the criminal complaint that led to the arrest. According to Kadokawa, the offending site hosted a full textual transcript of the third season of Overlord, going beyond the scope of what can be overlooked as “lawful quotation.”
Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) says that this is the first case of an arrest related to hosting a spoiler/digest site.
Copyright-related crackdowns seem to be on the rise in Japan in recent times, especially when it comes to anime and manga-related IPs. Earlier this year, Shonen Jump publisher Shueisha filed a criminal complaint against foreign manga leakers, which likewise resulted in an arrest.
