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Man Charged with Recording Audio from Gundam 00 Film
posted on by Egan Loo
On Tuesday, Nakano City's central police station filed charges against a 42-year-old male company worker for allegedly recording the audio from Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer and SP The Motion Picture: Yabō-Hen with his mobile phone.
The Nakano District Public Prosecutor's Office is processing the charges under both the recently passed law against hidden recording devices in movie theaters and Japan's Copyright Act. It is only the second case to be prosecuted under Japan's law against recording devices in movie theaters, and the first one where only the audio was allegedly recorded. Under the law enacted in 2007, both video and audio recordings are prohibited for eight months after a film's opening day (for paying audience members).
The suspect allegedly recorded the soundtracks of the two films in a Nakano theater on November 4; the Gundam 00 film had opened on September 18, and the first SP film had opened on October 30. According to the police, the other audience members noticed the suspect and reported the incident to the theater staff. The suspect allegedly said that he had recorded the audio for his own personal listening enjoyment.
Since the anti-recording law went into effect, Japanese movie theaters have regularly shown public service announcements to remind viewers of the law.
Sources: Mainichi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun via Temple Knights
Image © Sotsu, Sunrise, MBS
