User blog:Videogamep/Possible Problems with Getting Scans

I just discovered that several Japanese companies are going to collaborate with the Japanese government to remove pirated anime and manga and take down the sites that post the content. From the website: On July 28, 2014, along with launching a web site collecting links of legitimate Japanese Manga and Anime, called “Manga-Anime here” (URL：http://manga-anime-here.com External Site Link), METI will start to monitor and remove illegally uploaded copies of around 580 works over five months. With a decrease in piracy in the market and through fair reward for legitimate contents, which leads to the creation of new contents, this project aims to generate a positive growth cycle

Recently the cost of damage from pirate copies of Manga and Anime has been expanding. According to a report in 2013 from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, in major cities of China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing) the cost of damage to Japanese contents is JPY 560 billion (approximately US$ 5.6 billion) per year. Also a 2014 METI report indicates that the estimated cost of damage from online piracy is as much as JPY 2 trillion (approximately US$ 20 billion).

Taking countermeasures against the serious damage caused by piracy, the Manga-Anime Anti-Piracy Committee was formed in July 2013 in response to a proposal by METI then subsequently launched the Manga-Anime Guardians Project (MAGP) to promote antipiracy activities.

Overview of Manga-Anime Guardians Project （MAGP）

1.Large scale and efficient removal of pirated copies From August 1, 2014, METI will start to monitor and remove illegally uploaded copies of around 580 works, including 500 works of Manga and 80 works of Anime over five months.

2.Launching a web site of links to legitimate Manga and Anime On July 30, 2014, METI launches “Manga-Anime here” (URL：http://manga-anime-here.comExternal Site Link) to guide Manga-Anime fans away from illegal sources and to legitimate sites by providing URL links to legitimate Manga-Anime.

3.Promotion for watching and reading legitimate contents A special promotional short movie has been created for this very project that consists of “Thank You” footage from selected masterpieces of Japanese Manga and Anime. METI will continue to make further efforts for the promotion of anti-piracy measures.

This project will be carried out by the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA) as a commissioned project with METI’s supplementary budget for the fiscal year of 2013, which is referred to as “The initiative to strengthen anti-piracy measures (the initiative to support anti-piracy efforts for the purpose of promoting content distribution)”.

I doubt this will work, considering how difficult it is to take down foreign websites, but it might make it harder to get scans since they are supposedly targeting Mangapanda and Mangastream. This shouldn't be a problem long term since it would be difficult and expensive to maintain and the scope is relatively small. I don't know how many new manga are published each year, but there were thirty new anime this season alone and since there are four anime seasons a year, that means (assuming there are 20-30 new shows each season) there are around 100 or so new anime every year while this project is supposed to target 80 shows, a relatively small amount considering how much anime is out there. I'm not supporting or condemning this project, I just thought I should warn everyone about possible problems getting scans and episodes in the future.

(source:http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/07/29/details-of-japanese-governments-manga-anime-guardians-project, http://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2014/0730_01.html)