A recent breakdown in talks at a government panel of experts discussing measures against websites that pirate manga and anime highlights the sensitivities over the government's plan to legalize the blocking of access to piracy websites — a step that proponents say is crucial to protecting the interests of copyright holders, but opponents charge could violate the "secrecy of communication" guaranteed under the Constitution. Given the serious concerns raised over the blocking measure, the government should not rush forward with its plan but instead explore other steps that can effectively combat the piracy websites.
A surge in online piracy of manga and anime content since last year — with the value of the copyright infringements estimated to range from tens to hundreds of billions of yen — prompted the government in April to take action against three particularly malicious piracy websites that provided viewers with free manga and anime content without obtaining the consent of or paying royalties to the copyright holders. In an "emergency" measure, the Cabinet Office urged internet service providers (ISPs) to voluntarily block access to the three websites. Aiming to take legislative steps in the Diet next year to back up such a measure, in June it launched the panel including representatives from the publishing and communications industries as well as legal experts to discuss the matter.
Noting that the piracy websites threaten the survival of the manga business, panel members from the publishing industry called the blocking measure a key tool to stop copyright infringement. Some lawyers and members of the communications industry, however, raised concern that the blocking measure, which requires ISPs to monitor users to see what websites they're visiting and block their access to certain sites, could infringe on the constitutional right of secrecy of communication.