TOKYO: Three Vietnamese men have been apprehended in Hanoi by local police over pirate websites and apps that streamed Japanese and other works without permission.
According to the Tokyo-based Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), the three men in their 20s are being investigated over alleged copyright infringement. The association said on Friday that it is the first such criminal case involving Japanese works in Vietnam, where numerous pirate websites have been found.
A website operated by one of the three men had streamed about 2,400 works from various countries without permission and had logged more than 90,000 visits since June 2025. According to CODA, the content included Japanese anime, movies and TV dramas along with Vietnamese subtitles and other features.
The other two men operated apps that required payment for some content, generating about ¥2.56 million in profits. The website and apps are no longer accessible.
CODA and Japanese production companies have been cooperating with the investigation since May by verifying rights to the infringed works and taking other measures.- Japan News/ANN
