Shueisha, the manga publisher behind Shonen Jump, has released a statement following the arrests of two suspected leakers in Japan.
The manga industry is expanding rapidly – and leaks are getting easier to find. Fans rarely have to wait for the official release of manga chapters, as leakers take to social media to reveal spoilers days beforehand.
Two individuals were recently arrested by police in Japan on suspicion of breaching the country’s Copyright Act. It’s believed the leakers bought early copies of WSJ from wholesale shops in Tokyo, before taking photos of raw scans of popular titles likeJujutsu Kaisen,One Piece, and Blue Lock on their phones and distributing them online.
Following the arrests and the ensuing reaction on social media, Shonen Jump’s publisher has issued a statement.
Shueisha responds to manga leakers arrests
Shueisha has released a statement because of the recent arrests due to Weekly Shonen Jump leaks store owners that was selling people early and said they will keep tracking these leaks and try hard top stop it to protect authors work that they worked hard forLeaks might be…pic.twitter.com/KJEqhUoqrX
“The illegal uploading of manga magazines before their official release date, known as ‘early-bulletins,’ is spreading through social networking services and other means, depriving readers of the enjoyment they have come to expect from the magazine.
“The author is also very distressed, and we consider this to be an extremely serious problem. Therefore, we consider the arrest of the suspect to be a major step forward toward solving the problem, and we hope that the clarification of the ‘early exposure’ route will lead to the deterrence of future damage.
“Shueisha will continue to take all possible measures to protect the rights of authors and their works, which they have put their heart and soul into, and to ensure that readers can enjoy manga in an appropriate manner.”
Aparna is a former Anime Writer at Dexerto. Besides this, she also enjoys watching the latest TV shows and movies explicitly falling under the horror genre. She started her professional journey in the retail industry but her admiration for films and TV shows pulled her into the field of entertainment writing where she has experience writing for various well-known publishers including Otakukart, Sportskeeda and Game Revolution.
