Shortly after the world learned that the country had approved a new anti-piracy bill, Anonymous hacktivists launched Operation Japan to protest against the extreme measures and the way they were formulated.
According to The Japan Times, the law was approved by the Education, Culture and Science Committee of the House of Councilors with 221 votes in favor.
After October 1, when the law goes into effect, users who download copyrighted content or copy DVDs may receive a fine of up to ¥2 million ($250,000 or 200,000 EUR) and can even be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison.
Many fear that the way the bill is worded leaves a lot of room for interpretation, which could lead to a lot of unfair prosecutions.
In response to the news, Anonymous has released a statement that announces the start of an operation against the Japanese government.
“Earlier this week Japan approved an amendment to its copyright law which will give authorities the right to imprison citizens for up to two years simply for downloading copyrighted material,” Anonymous wrote.
Read more: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Anonymous-Launches-OpJapan-in-Response-to-New-Copyright-Law-277905.shtml
