Outflow of E-Bookstore Users Due to Increased Use of Pirated Websites
First written in FY2018. 3 of 8 entries say "Mitigated", first in FY2020. Latest entry: FY2026.
1 other company's latest entry also says "Mitigated".
- FY2026MitigatedAnnual report
「Recently, traffic to piracy sites based overseas has declined to approximately one-sixth of its peak level since December 2025, and no material adverse impact on the earnings of the group has been observed as of the fiscal year ending February 2026.」
The company explains that traffic to overseas piracy sites has declined to approximately one-sixth of its peak level since December 2025 and that no material adverse impact on earnings has been observed as of the current fiscal year. - FY2025WorsenedAnnual report
「Recently, multiple large piracy sites based overseas have been identified, and traffic to piracy sites has surged since June 2024.」
The company states that multiple large piracy sites based overseas have been identified and that traffic has surged since June 2024. However, it states that there was no material adverse impact on earnings as of the fiscal year ended February 2025. - FY2023-Q1MitigatedAnnual report
「Regarding piracy sites, 2 major sites were shut down in March this year, reducing traffic to approximately half its peak level. Industry-wide efforts to date have begun to produce results in some areas,」
The company cites the closure of 2 major piracy sites and the halving of traffic from its peak as evidence of a reduced impact from piracy. - FY2022RestatedAnnual report
「Recently, multiple small and medium-sized sites based overseas have been identified. While some have been shut down, traffic continues to trend upward, and the company continues to address the issue in cooperation with the publishing industry and the government.」
Regarding piracy sites based overseas, the company recognizes that traffic continues to trend upward despite cases of shutdowns and continues to address the issue in cooperation with the industry and government. - FY2022-Q3RestatedAnnual report
「In the e-book market, there were also some factors hindering market expansion, including the impact of piracy sites.」
The company continues to state its view that piracy sites are hindering the expansion of the e-book market. - FY2021WorsenedAnnual report
「Since the closure of a major piracy site that had a significant impact between 2017 and 2018, there had been no notable developments in the damage caused by pirated manga sites, but the damage has recently been expanding. A series of pirated sites targeting Japan and operated on servers located outside Japan, including in Vietnam, have been identified, and the combined traffic to the top 10 sites is believed to exceed the scale of the former major piracy site.」
A series of piracy sites using overseas servers have been identified, and the company believes that traffic to the top 10 sites is at a level exceeding that of major sites in the past. - FY2020MitigatedAnnual report
「The market expanded further as sales recovered at business partners affected by the closure of a major piracy site in April 2018, alongside an increase in the number of owners of smartphones and other electronic devices, greater diversity in content delivery formats, the expansion of campaigns and promotions by e-book retailers and publishers, and the growing adoption of e-books by users.」
The company states that sales at business partners recovered after the closure of a major piracy site, following the previously observed impact of increased use of piracy sites. - FY2018MaterialisedAnnual report
「From around September 2017, use of pirated sites increased, resulting in some e-bookstores losing users. The impact of this development has been confirmed in the form of slower growth at e-bookstores that had previously maintained high growth rates.」
States that increased use of pirated sites and user outflows from some e-bookstores actually occurred and resulted in slower growth.