On May 20, 2025, the Miyagi Prefectural Police Headquarters and the Minamisanriku Police Station referred five individuals—including a male business owner residing in Sendai City—and the operating company to the Sendai District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of copyright infringement.
The incident was reported by Japan’s Copyright Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), which did not elaborate on their own role in bringing it to light.
The individuals involved are suspected of, in November 2023, transcribing detailed storylines—including character names, lines of dialogue, actions, settings, and scene developments—of five films copyrighted by Toho Co., Ltd., including Godzilla Minus One; three films copyrighted by Toei Company, Ltd., including Shin Kamen Rider; two films copyrighted by KADOKAWA Corporation, including Kubi; and Shin Ultraman, copyrighted by Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd.
Highly unusual
The suspects had allegedly transcribed the entire storyline of copyrighted films without permission from the rights holders, produced articles that included related images, and published them on a website they operated. Cases in which a corporation is referred to prosecutors on suspicion of copyright infringement are very rare, making this a highly unusual instance.
The suspects then allegedly combined these texts with related images and published the articles on their site, illegally earning advertising revenue. The website is believed to have featured detailed summaries of more than 8,000 films, with summaries running from beginning to end, essentially functioning as a text-based version of “fast movies.”
This case involves a different site from “Site A”, which was first busted by Miyagi Prefectural Police on October 29 for operating a movie synopsis website, and whose operator and writer were indicted on November 19. Following an investigation by Miyagi Prefectural Police, CODA coordinated with the rights holders, which led to this latest crackdown.
The police investigation revealed that, similar to Site A, the five individuals had defined roles: a business owner overseeing operations, an employee responsible for publishing the articles, and writers who created the content for a fee. It was also found that writers had been recruited as part-time workers through staffing agencies. These findings confirm that the group had conspired and systematically engaged in copyright infringement, operating the site for profit and attracting a large number of visitors.
Further reading
Five people and a company referred to prosecutors for copyright infringement by posting full movie summaries online without authorization. Press release. May 21, 2025. Copyright Overseas Distribution Association (CODA, Japan)
Why it matters
Illegal “text extraction sites“ that transcribe the entire storyline without authorization—commonly referred to as spoiler sites—remain widespread. The content published on such sites enables visitors to understand the full story of a film, which discourages them from paying to watch the actual content and results in severe damage to the legitimate market.
CODA wants the public to recognize that such acts clearly exceed the bounds of lawful quotation and constitute copyright infringement. We also urge people to understand that using such sites indirectly benefits criminal operations and harms the rights holders who create the content. Please refrain from casually using these services.
CODA will continue working to eliminate unauthorized use of Japanese content and to promote content protection, legitimate distribution, and a healthy internet ecosystem
