There is no end to the proliferation of illegal websites that post copies of manga and other pirated material on the internet without permission and provide them for free. It is necessary to deal with the sophistication of the methods and close the loopholes in antipiracy countermeasures.
According to an estimate by an organization of publishers and other entities that tackles anti-piracy websites, over 1 trillion yen of manga was read for free on major pirate sites in Japan in 2021, nearly five times as much as in 2020, and far exceeding the legitimate market size of about 610 billion yen in 2020.
This is an extremely serious situation that not only could threaten to undermine the operations of publishers, but also undermines the value of Japan's proud manga culture.
