TOKYO (Bernama-Kyodo): Lost revenue from illegal online viewing of Japanese manga and other publications worldwide was estimated at around 8.5 trillion yen (US$55 billion) a year, highlighting the extent of damage caused to rights holders by piracy websites, a recent study showed.
Kyodo news reported that anti-piracy group ABJ examined access numbers and viewing times for 913 websites for the month of June and found that the sites offering unauthorised access to Japanese comics, novels and photo books received about 2.8 billion visits during the period from users in 123 countries and regions, with total viewing time reaching around 700 million hours.
Losses for rights holders were estimated at 704.8 billion yen, calculated based on the assumption that users finish reading a 500-yen comic book in 30 minutes.
This would translate to roughly 8.5 trillion yen a year, according to the Tokyo-based group formed by members from the publishing, e-book distribution and related sectors.
The issue of piracy websites has long been a major headache for Japanese publishers, artists and authors as new sites continue to emerge, with many often changing their domains to evade detection.
By country, Indonesia recorded the largest share of total viewing time of illegal manga at 12.8 percent, followed by Japan at 12.4 percent and the United States at 11.2 percent, the study showed.
English was the most common language among pirate sites, accounting for 51 percent. Japanese was second, accounting for 16 percent. Chinese and Vietnamese were tied for third, each accounting for 6 percent
Atsushi Ito, a senior member of ABJ, said the study showed the damage was more severe than the group had expected, adding, "Based on the data, we aim to implement more effective countermeasures." - Bernama-Kyodo
