Two Foreign Nationals Arrested for Illegal Image Leaks

Summary

Two foreign nationals were arrested for leaking the Shonen Jump images before the official release.

They had already been detained for the same crime before.

One of the accused, Samir Musa, has admitted to his crime.

Two foreign nationals were arrested earlier this month for allegedly posting images of manga from Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. They are now facing new accusations by the Kumamoto and Nigata prefectural police joint investigation unit.

The suspects are now accused of posting manga images from Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine online before their scheduled release date.

36-year-old Samir Musa, working at limited liability company called Japan Deal World, which sells manga-related goods in Tokyo’s Kita Ward, reportedly purchased the magazines from a distributor.

The suspects posted this content without permission before the issues’ official release on September 3, 2023, and repeated it on January 13, 2024. The text of the images was translated from Japanese into multiple other languages, had color added, and was posted to numerous websites, including social media platforms.

According to NHK’s report, Musa has admitted to the new accusations. The two suspects were arrested earlier on February 4 for allegedly posting images of manga from Weekly Shonen Jump. The suspects were detained and are now being subjected to new accusations. The police suspects that multiple others are involved in this activity and are investigating further.

Fans have split opinions on this situation. Some of the fans find the situation absurd as the backlash they are receiving for infringing on the entertainment industry is disproportionate compared to the “actual” serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the other fans view it as a severe offense and believe the suspects should receive a total penalty. It is important to note that the situation isn’t just about a fan posting an illegal snapshot but about misusing the distribution channel, which explains the magazine’s serious response.

Source: NHK