Japanese Man Pleads Guilty over Pirate Manga Website

Fukuoka, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--A 26-year-old Japanese man on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of uploading manga images on pirate website Mangamura.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old woman pleaded not guilty to the same charges, during the first hearing of their trial at Fukuoka District Court in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka. The man, Kota Fujisaki, and the woman, Shiho Ito, are suspected of violating the copyright law.

The pirate website was mainly managed by Romi Hoshino, 27, who has been detained in the Philippines.

Fujisaki and Ito allegedly uploaded images from the 866th episode of blockbuster manga series One Piece on Mangamura at Fujisaki's home in Tokyo's Nakano Ward in May 2017, in conspiracy with those including Hoshino, allowing the public to view them and infringing on the rights of the creator of the manga and its publisher, according to the indictment.

In its opening statement at the hearing, the prosecution claimed that Fujisaki and Hoshino, who were living together at the time, were in charge of updating the pirate website under the instructions of the Hoshino side, adding that Ito received financial rewards for the updating work and used the money to cover their living expenses.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]