[x-pubpol] Illegal downloaders now facing jail as Japan passes new laws

[Joly MacFie]

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ttp://www.factmag.com/2012/06/21/illegal-downloaders-now-facing-jail-as-japan-passes-new-laws/<http://www.factmag.com/2012/06/21/illegal-downloaders-now-facing-jail-as-japan-passes-new-laws/>

*From October of this year, music piracy in Japan will be punishable by
jail.*

*Music Week<http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1050015&c=1&utm_source=MusicWeekLatestNews&utm_medium=twitter>
 *report that illegal downloaders could be hit by penalties of up to two
years in prison, or files fines that extended up to 2 million yen
(£16,000). Unauthorised uploaders on the other hand, can expect to be hit
with five times the punishment: up to ten years imprisonment. Other reports
suggest that “ripping” of content, in a manner that bypasses digital copy
protection (think the CSS system on DVDs) is also facing a clampdown, while
national and local governments will become legally obligated to educate
minors on illegal download prevention.

The debate over illegal downloads has been a widely discussed one in Japan,
with Warner Music Japan’s Keiichi Ishizaka  particularly outspoken on the
issue, claiming that he wants to “exterminate” illegal downloads. In 2010,
data from the Recording Industry of Japan (RIAJ), with Ishizaka as
then-chairman, showed that in 2010 Japan saw nearly 440 million legal music
downloads, and ten times the amount of illegal ones.

Current RIAJ chairman Naoki Kitagawa has promised, in light of the amended
laws, that his organisation will carry out more campaigns to help internet
users understand the law, and help create “a sound internet society.”

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