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27 Arrested in Japan for File-Sharing, Including 2 Perfect Dark Users

Japan's National Police Agency announced on Friday that it has arrested 27 suspects across the country between Tuesday and Thursday for uploading manga, anime, films, music videos, and video games online without the copyright holders' permission. While most of the suspects allegedly used the Share file-sharing software program, at least two allegedly used Perfect Dark, a software which was intended to maintain its users' anonymity better than Share.

According to Japan's Association of Copyright for Computer Software (ACCS), a 35-year-old unemployed man in Nagasaki Prefecture and a 49-year-old unemployed man in Okayama Prefecture were both arrested for uploading files online via Perfect Dark. The 35-year-old man was arrested on charges of uploading the first volume of Masakazu Iwasaki's Kemeko Deluxe! manga. The 49-year-old man was arrested for uploading the first episode of Tamako Market.

Additionally, at least four other suspects were arrested for uploading anime, including the 32nd episode and more from Zettai Karen Children, the 2008 Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear film, the first episode of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and the 25th episode of Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya.

At least four other suspects were arrested for uploading manga, including the 358th chapter of Hiroya Oku's Gantz, the 74th volume of Gōshō Aoyama's Detective Conan, the 10th volume of Gantz, and the 27th volume of Motohiro Katou's Q.E.D. manga

Additionally, one suspect was arrested on charges of uploading the AKB1/48 Idol to Guam de Aishitara... PlayStation Portable game, and one person was arrested for uploading the first episode of the Kamen Rider Wizard television series. Of the 13 suspects listed on ACCS' website, all but one were in their 30s or 40s, and one suspect was 28 years old. Ten of those suspects allegedly used Share to upload the files, and one suspect allegedly used a video site, not a file-sharing program.

Dozens of people have almost routinely been arrested for uploading anime and other content online in Japan, but there are only three known cases in the past where a person was arrested for using Perfect Dark, a "next-generation" program with more robust anonymity features planned than its predecessors. (The Perfect Dark file-sharing program has no relation to the Nintendo 64/XBox Live Arcade game of the same name.) In 2010, two men and one woman were arrested on charges of uploading anime online via Perfect Dark.

Source: Jiji Press

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