Downloading Pirated Content in Japan Can Land Internet Users in Jail for Two Years ByNitish Singh-February 14 2019.779 Figure 1 Photo Courtesy of Freestocks Downloading pirated films manga tv shows or music can soon be considered as a criminal activity against the people. A new law in the country which sees more than 200 active pirate file sharing websites is being considered to curb piracy. Individuals caught violating the law will spend up to two years in jail. Japan’s involvement in criminalizing piracy was first mentioned last year with the Agency for Cultural Affairs considering making piracy illegal. An estimated 200 public file-sharing websites are active in Japan, allowing users to download pirated content of various types. The new law would prosecute internet users who deliberately share links to content that is pirated. Japan’s government adopted the new strategy Wednesday. Apart from the imprisonment sentence, guilty persons may also face a fine of up to two million yen. The amount is subject to change however and the maximum fine can only be imposed on serious offenders. The penalties will only be handed down if criminal complaints are lodged by copyright holders and others who profit from the violation. A Japanese government advisory had proposed outlawing indexing sites for pirates. Although the websites do not contain pirated content on their own, they offer links to other websites which host pirated content. For most of the world’s piracy, TV shows movies and music, but the Japanese manga and anime industry is also suffering heavily from piracy. While the new law in Japan is yet to be enforced, the law will most likely come into effect taking into account the interest shown in the past by the government and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.