Japan proposes to amend law: Downloading pirated comics will be subject to criminal punishment

On October 1, according to Nikkei Chinese website, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs will soon begin soliciting public opinions on the Copyright Law Amendment, which will make downloading pirated comics and other works an illegal act.

The report said that currently, the download restrictions are limited to music and videos uploaded to the Internet without the permission of the copyright owner. The amendment, which was originally scheduled to be submitted to Congress in March but was postponed, expands the scope to "all works", including comics, magazines, papers, photos and other still images.

The amendment also states that it is prohibited to illegally download paid works. As with videos and music, it should be punished with a prison sentence of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 2 million yen (about 120,000 yuan), or both. The amendment states that even taking and saving "screenshots" of pages such as personal blogs may be illegal as long as one knows that they contain infringing content.