A man who operated the Japanese anime piracy website “櫻花動漫 (imomoe.ai)”, targeting users in China, and who was criminally prosecuted by the Chengdu Public Security Bureau in Sichuan Province on October 14, 2023, was convicted in the first trial held on December 13, 2024. The Tianfu New Area People’s Court of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB for copyright infringement, and seven months in prison and a fine of 5,000 RMB for forging private documents, for a total of two years and three months in prison and a fine of 15,000 RMB (approx. 310,000 JPY). The man appealed the verdict; however, on July 4, 2025, the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court upheld the first-instance ruling, finalizing the guilty verdict.
During the criminal trial, it was revealed that the defendant continued operating the website for profit from 2017 to 2021, repeatedly changing domains to avoid enforcement. “櫻花動漫” operated in Chinese, and most of the content consisted of Japanese anime with Chinese subtitles. During the above period, more than 2,100 titles (over 30,000 episodes) were distributed on the site without authorization, and over 10,000 episodes were confirmed to be Japanese anime titles owned by CODA member companies (※1). As a result, 櫻花動漫 had long been notorious as a major piracy site for Japanese anime in China.
(As of July 2020, with partial image editing)
This case began when two major Chinese video streaming platform operators filed a criminal complaint with the public security bureau in August 2021, claiming that approximately 180 licensed Japanese anime titles (about 2,000 episodes) that they distributed legally in China were being uploaded illegally on 櫻花動漫. According to the two companies’ investigation, as of June 2020, daily traffic to the site reached 50,000 to 100,000 visits. The companies had repeatedly requested the operator to remove infringing content since September 18, 2018, but he did not comply. Considering the severe damage, the companies also filed three administrative penalty requests with the Chinese authorities, which led to various enforcement measures. Nevertheless, the defendant continued his infringement, demonstrating highly malicious behavior.
In this case, CODA, at the request of the two Chinese companies, analyzed and compiled the damage caused to Japanese anime titles distributed on 櫻花動漫. Based on this, affected rightsholders confirmed their damages through CODA’s Rights Inquiry Database (operated since March 2023, ※2), thereby supporting and cooperating in the criminal complaint.
The damage caused by such a malicious site, which continuously hosted a massive volume of infringing content over several years, is extremely serious. This criminal prosecution and the finalization of the guilty verdict are expected to serve as a strong deterrent against similar piracy website operations.
CODA will continue to collaborate across borders with relevant authorities and companies to eradicate the unauthorized use of Japanese content.
This initiative was conducted as part of a project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI).
※1: Based on an investigation as of March 2021
※2: A system designed to handle requests from Chinese public security authorities efficiently, enabling the confirmation of rights ownership and licensing status when CODA members’ content is infringed in China.
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About CODA
CODA (Content Overseas Distribution Association) was established in 2002 at the call of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote the overseas development of Japanese content and take anti-piracy measures. Japan’s proud content, including music, movies, anime, broadcast programs, video games, and publishing, plays an important role in enhancing the nation’s international presence and economic growth. As digital technology becomes more widespread, it is even more significant to protect Japan’s content from increasingly artful copyright infringement and promote the content industry’s development. CODA contributes to the deterrence and detection of online and other piracy, by sharing knowledge with relevant government agencies, organizations, and companies in Japan and abroad, to engage in direct and indirect anti-piracy measures, as well as public relations activities. Visit https://coda-cj.jp/en/activity/ for more information on CODA’s projects.