Japan has changed its copyright law, instituting stiff penalties for illegal downloads that could entail prosecution for simply viewing a pirated music video on YouTube.
The new penalties are up to two years in jail or fines of up to 2 million yen ($25,700; £15,900).
As TorrentFreak pointed out, this draconian approach to piracy differs from other countries in that it focuses on punishing downloaders, rather than on the uploaders who made the material available in the first place.
Japan already has laws to punish uploaders with up to 10 years in prison and a 10 million yen ($128,300) fine, whereas this new legislation for the first time criminalizes downloading.
Up until now, downloading had merely been punishable as a civil infraction.
But after intense lobbying from the Japanese music industry, the country in June amended its Copyright Law to punish unauthorized downloaders.
Read more: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/02/japan-rolls-out-stiff-fines-and-jail-times-for-illegal-downloads/
