Arrests conducted with prefectural police in 29 prefectures.
The Association of Copyright for Computer Software (ACCS) announced on Monday that the Japanese National Police Agency, in coordination with 29 prefectural police agencies, arrested 44 individuals between February 16-18 for violation of the Japanese Copyright Act due to unauthorized uploading and sharing of copyrighted material such as movies, music, anime, manga, and business and productivity software through file-sharing software.
The ACCS lists some of the details of the arrests made after searches of 93 locations, which include:
- 34-year old male part-time worker in Tokyo (uploaded Lupin III: Tōhō Kenbunroku ~Another Page~ anime via Share)
- 39-year old male office worker in Kanagawa (uploaded first episode of Isuca anime via Share)
- 30-year old unemployed man in Osaka (uploaded 39th volume of Kingdom manga via Share)
- 52-year old male office worker in Hyogo (uploaded 31st volume of Yamikin Ushijima-kun manga via Share)
- 39-year old self-employed man in Hiroshima (uploaded first volume of Golden Time light novel via Share)
- 46-year old male office worker in Okayama (uploaded 17th volume of Attack on Titan manga, and seventh volume of SP – Keishichō Keigobu Keigoka Daiyon-gakari manga via Share)
- 39-year old male part-time worker in Kagawa (uploaded 35th volume of Bleach color version manga via Share)
- 55-year old male office worker in Nagasaki (uploaded Speed Learning Beginner/Vol.2 English for Travelers via LimeWire)
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