Update on the Shonen Jump Leaker’s Case

Earlier this year, the famous Shonen Jump published by Shueisha was victim to leaks of popular manga like Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece. The investigation of this led to the arrest of two foreign nationals who had allegedly infringed on the Weekly Shonen Jump’s copyright.

Leaks such as these are a huge inconvenience for writers as well as for readers. The trial of this case is currently ongoing. Let’s uncover the remaining details of this case.

Details on the Shonen Jump Leaker Case

Out of the two charges against the two foreign nationals, they denied one and accepted the other. This led to the suspicion that others may be involved in the leak cases.

Kumamoto Prefectural Police seized the phones, magazines and computers of these individuals. On searching their devices, evidence has been collected that is indicative of the fact that these foreign nationals may be the operators of the famous manga leaker OPScans.

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Updates on the Leaker’s Case

As of now, leaks are being investigated for other manga like Kagurabachi, Sakamoto Days, and Edens Zero due to the threat of other leakers.

Currently staff of Shonen Jump are under trial for the leak. Prosecution demands 1.5 years imprisonment for the company boss and 1 year prison for his assistant. Other huge fines to also be charged against the company.

Shonen Jump staff argue that the fault is at the foreign individual who approached them for leaks in exchange for promoting the company, which turned out to be a false promise as the company has only been negatively affected. They argue that, as they aren’t at fault for the leak, they require a suspended sentence.

On the 5th of February, Shueisha issued a statement saying: “This kind of crime deprives readers who are eagerly awaiting the release date of the magazine of the enjoyment they can usually come to expect from the publication.” He also emphasized on the kind of negative impact this will have on the authors who work hard on their manga just to have it leaked and lose its value.

About Weekly Shonen Jump

Weekly Shonen Jump is an anthology of shonen manga published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The majority of their manga titles fall under the genre of action and comedy. Chapters of the series that run in this weekly issue are typically collected and published in tankobon volumes every few months. 

Weekly Shonen Jump has sold over 7.5 billion copies since its first release in 1968. Notable manga that have been published within its covers are series such as Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk. As part of the media digitization movement, Shonen Jump can now also be consumed via Shonen Jump+, a Japanese phone app, or its English counterpart, Manga Plus (available outside of Japan only). Titles that are currently in Weekly Shonen Jump‘s circulation include Jujutsu Kaisen, RuriDragon, and Sakamoto Days.