‘One Piece’ Episodes Online Sharing Leads To Japanese Man’s Arrest

A Japanese man was arrested on Oct. 19, Monday, after being accused of illegally sharing three episodes of "One Piece," the manga series creaked by manga artist Eiichiro Oda.

The 45-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, was a male office worker from Hashimoto-city, Wakayama Prefecture. He was arrested by Gifu Prefectural Police on suspicion of copyright infringement for sharing the "One Piece" episodes online.

Subsequently, the police referred the case to the Public Prosecutors Office, according to Sanskei Sports.

Using the file-sharing program Share, the suspect reportedly uploaded the "One Piece" episodes onto the internet from his PC without the permission of Toei Animation, which owns the copyright of "One Piece" animated series.

By doing this, the 45-year-old man from Hashimoto-city, Wakayama Prefecture, made the three "One Piece" episodes available to watch by many unspecified people on July 5. His illegal activity was found out by the police during their cyber patrol.

The man has already confessed to committing the crime. He said he knew it was wrong, but he thought he would never get arrested since there are many others who had done the same thing.

In Japan, it is illegal to post copyrighted materials onto the internet without the permission of the copyright holder. Such materials include films, TV programs, music, anime, pages from the magazines before and after they are published.  

Whether or not it is for non-profit purposes, posting copyrighted materials online without the copyright holder's permission is considered in Japan as a criminal act that can result in a 10-year jail sentence or a fine of up to 10 million yen (approximately $86,700).

In other news, it was recently revealed that Oda sleeps only three hours a day. In an interview with a magazine article posted on 2ch, the "One Piece" creator said he goes to bed at 2am and wakes up at 5am.