NHK in Japan has reported that Kumamoto Prefectural
police arrested two foreign men on suspicion of violating copyright law for
leaking images of the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump online
before it comes out. for sale. Among them is the self-styled Musa Samir, 36,
who runs Japan Deal World LLC in Kita Ward, Tokyo, a French site selling anime
and manga merchandise. Although he may not seem like it, it is a
serious crime in Japan .
According to the police investigation, in March 2023
both misused the material they sold , taking illegal photos of
Shueisha's magazine, “Weekly Shonen Jump”, before the mangas were officially
published in stores. A second charge accuses them of violating copyright law
for taking and duplicating magazine images using their smartphone last
January. Police suspect that other people may be involved and are
carrying out a detailed investigation .
In response to the investigation, both suspects
denied the allegation of the March 2023 leak , saying: " It
wasn't me ." However, they admitted the second accusation
for leaking last January , saying: " There is no doubt
about that ."
In the wake of these arrests, the Asahi newspaper showed
images of screenshots provided during the Kumamoto Cybercrime division's press
conference, including screenshots of Jujutsu Kaisen , One Piece, and Blue Lock . These
images are used as evidence that the leaks provided were used to be posted on
social media .
Some manga leakers at X have already announced that they
will stop receiving Jump leaks next Wednesday, which could
indicate that their source could be related to these arrests . For
their part, some X accounts focused on Shonen Jump leaks were closed.
Of course, there was no shortage of reactions from industry
fans around the world, many rejoicing at this arrest, as they consider
the leaks annoying . At the same time they were also sure that this
would not stop them, since it was only one of the sources of leaks, so it would
not take long for the hydra to "grow a new head ."
