100 Final Country Report: Japan’s Copyright and Piracy Issues

Japan’s Copyright and Piracy Issues

Japan is a country known for its long history, beautiful scenery, and rich culture. Out of everything the country has produced, the Manga and Anime industry has gotten to be Japan’s most prominent soft power with huge influence internationally. Due to the rising popularity of Asian culture around the world and access to media from various platforms, Mangas and Animes are quickly becoming one of the most pirated media categories on the internet. This is a huge contrast to the hefty domestic copyright laws in Japan and many copyright owners still have yet to find a solution despite being against illegal downloading and pirating.

Earlier this year, the global Anime industry including publishers from Japan, the U.S., China, and more came together to create an organization under Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) with the purpose of fighting against piracy and helping lead criminal investigation in the field. It may come as a shock to readers who are unaware of this information but piracy cost the Japanese manga industry around 800 billion yen (6.95 billion USD) in 2021 just within the first ten months, outgrossing the market for authorized publications that earn around 600 billion Japanese yen yearly. Similar to the U.S. manga industry where pirated content costs creators and publishers around 1 trillion yen yearly (Nikkei Asia).  The increase in internet access around the world is contributing to the growth of piracy and because of this, copyright protection groups from more than 10 countries joined forces and will be launching in April this year in Japan. Although copyright is a huge concern in more developed countries, it is rarely being actively investigated in lesser developed countries where citizens lack the consciousness of what copyright ownership is. Content piracy takes place everywhere, even in the U.S. but it is the most common in non-western countries.

Speaking from my own experience of growing up in China, pirated content was almost everywhere. I’m almost certain the DVD store I used to visit frequently back in the late 2000s acquired their DVDs through illegal downloading. Fortunately, there has been a crackdown on pirated content and more emphasis on ownership and copyright over the past decade in China so stores like the one I visited quickly went out of business despite their 30 years of operation starting in the 80s. Anime piracy is much more likely to happen in countries with less strict copyright laws where people and governments don’t view it as much of an issue. If a country has strict copyright laws like Japan, one could almost be certain that piracy is being actively fought against.

Other than piracy, information leaks are heavily prohibited by law as the number of restrictions imposing civil and criminal liability online increases. Under federal protection, intentional leaks can result in up to 10 years of imprisonment while unintentional ones could still face up to two years, further emphasizing the seriousness of copyright practices in Japan. The Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets is designed to guard four main fields of state secrets – defense, diplomacy, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism. While government information is important to keep an eye on, the entertainment and media industries of Japan are also under heavy protection (Freedom House). In 2012, Japan proposed a revision of the copyright law that specifically applies to internet users who download pirated content knowing it is illegal as opposed to commercial gain. Although the law didn’t officially pass until June of 2020, just a simple mistake could potentially cost one up to two years in jail or fines up to 2 million yen ($18,000) for just downloading one illegal file (Kyoto News).

I believe this is relevant and similar to copyright laws in some ways because audio and videos are mediums for gathering and spreading information. Although illegally downloading and watching anime is not as severe as leaking government secrets, they should be seen in a similar manner because they are both damaging acts in their own ways. Sometimes pirated music and shows can be accessed earlier in certain areas before they are officially published, which ruins the whole concept of content ownership. However, the reason that laws have failed to address these issues is mainly that Japanese publishers often times find it difficult to control how and where their content is spreading to. There are approximately 1.17 billion websites on the internet right now and although only 17% are active, that is a scary number to imagine how many different sites one video can spread to that may even be in another language (Siteefy). It has proven to be extremely difficult for authorized publishers to enforce their rights on others who might not even share the same copyright consciousness with the exponential growth of internet usage and fast-growing piracy content. Especially because most people nowadays would still consider audio and video pirating an “unharmful” activity. Who can really say that they have not watched pirated content before? It is just impossible.

If Japan’s Manga and Anime industries continue to suffer from piracy issues, its music industry might potentially be affected too due to increasing technology and advancements in hacking along with information gathering. Being known as the world’s second-largest music industry, falling just shortly behind the U.S., Japan has established strict rules against illegal downloading since the very beginning. It is a great practice in my opinion because this norm inherently makes people more copyright conscious and more aware of how their online activities could potentially affect others. Although it may be difficult to achieve full copyright ownership, if piracy and illegal downloading were to be normalized, imagine how much all the industries that rely on copyright protection to maintain profits would suffer more than they already are right now. For the sake of ensuring individual rights, I believe copyright laws are also necessary and help promote the growth of artists and talented individuals who deserve full protection for their works. Typically, there are many different investors at the initial stages of production and they all get a seat at the table to determine how they want the show to be. There is essentially a production committee that owns the show together including but not limited to the original Manga publisher, a home video publisher, a music publisher, a video game publisher, etc. Manga and anime are huge industries that profit off of one another as well as other industries that want to participate in a specific anime franchise. Due to its need for massive investments, the piracy industry for Manga and Anime can seriously harm creators and publishers (Anime Newsnetwork). After all, who would feel motivated to create more if they knew their work would eventually get stolen and illegally distributed for profit?

Most importantly, Japan is a country full of traditions and values. While the copyright laws are logical from a profit and ownership perspective, it is also a result of their cultural influences. It is almost morally corrupt to illegally download content since the act itself is considered to be disrespectful to the owner or creator. Respect has its utmost importance in Japanese society as a traditional Eastern value that has been passed down through centuries and generations. One is expected to respect others but especially elders and authorities. Enforcing strict copyright laws domestically is part of the Japanese government and people’s way of showing and paying respect to creators. The more copyright is enforced, the creators will be more motivated to put time and effort into their works because the copyright laws will ensure that they will get a taste of the fruit of their labor thus encouraging new innovations and advancements.

I fully support and encourage more countries to enforce copyright laws, but I believe it is also important to look into why piracy is so common. Despite many of the legal and moral issues that arise from the topic of piracy, it is also equally as important to note some of the benefits that it brings to the anime and manga industry. Consumers also benefit from desired content being so widespread with more accessibility. One issue that anime-watchers often struggle with is the lack of options on legal sites like Netflix or Hulu. Oftentimes, big authorized publishers are only able to incorporate a small portion of animes, typically the more popular and mainstream ones, into their service which leaves a gap for the lesser-known works. As an anime watcher myself, I too struggle with the lack of options when it comes to streaming services in the U.S. I’ve only been able to find a lot of the less-mainstream shows on so-called “pirated” websites without knowing that they are actually considered to be illegal from a copyright perspective. As a matter of fact, anime is blocked throughout the UK, Europe, and some parts of Asia due to the difficulty of Japan’s licensing laws so consumers from those areas could only access the show they want to watch from pirated websites. I understand that may not be the right justification to participate in “illegal” activity, but most people who visit pirated sites are simply fans who just want some good entertainment. Additionally, it is very difficult to obtain officially published DVDs as they are often quickly sold out or rarely in stock. It is understandable why pirated sites are so common. I see a lot of potential benefits to making the regulations not so strict. There are many anime-lovers who cannot afford the expensive subscription or purchasing fees required, and the pirated sites provide them with accessibility not seen elsewhere. If a company or publisher was not able to profit off of their content in other areas, they aren’t necessarily losing money because there were none to be made in the first place. It’s harmful yet harmless. In the film and video industry, piracy is often difficult to regulate overseas regardless of location but with the rise in internet usage, governments and organizations can come together to further resolve this issue. Although pirated content benefits consumers, it is important for governments and organizations to encourage and implement copyright laws. In the end, everyone will benefit more from respecting others’ time and hard work.

Although Japan should be celebrating that its culture and language are being shared and cherished all around the world, the country suffers big time in illegal downloading and piracy activities that generate more revenue than the official market itself. It is deeply concerning with the number of pirated content growing more and more every day, especially coming from an owner or creator’s perspective. However, thanks to international efforts along with domestic efforts, companies and organizations are taking the issue more seriously and are beginning to tackle them with strategies such as joint partnerships to fight against the issue. In today’s digital age, this act of pushing for copyright could further enhance people’s consciousness of content ownership on a global level. I hope the anime organization that is being launched this month can achieve its goals of fighting against more pirated content and protecting its rights.

Citations:

House, F. (2020). Japan: Freedom on the net 2020 country report. Freedom House. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://freedomhouse.org/country/japan/freedom-net/2020#C

Huss, N. (2022, April 7). How many websites are there in the world? (2022). Siteefy. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://siteefy.com/how-many-websites-are-there/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20are%20around%201.17%20billion%20websites%20in%20the%20World.

Iwasawa, A. (2021, December 31). Anime Industry Launches Global Fight Against Piracy. Nikkei Asia. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/Anime-industry-launches-global-fight-against-piracy

News, K. (2020, June 5). Japan enacts copyright control law to ban pirated manga downloads. Kyodo News+. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/06/33f524714d35-japan-enacts-copyright-control-law-to-ban-pirated-manga-downloads.html

Sevakis, J. (2016, March 2). Answerman – who actually “owns” an anime? Anime News Network. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2016-03-02/.99287