News
Japanese Wife Arrested for Selling Ponyo DVD Copies
posted on by Egan Loo
Police in Hamakita city in the central Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka have arrested a housewife on October 22 for making unauthorized DVD copies of the Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea anime film and selling the copies online. As the latest film from director Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away), Ponyo opened in Japanese theaters in July, and it is still playing to this day. The Hamakita police say that this is the first time an arrest has been made in Japan for unauthorized distribution of Ponyo.
According to the police investigation, 36-year-old Noriko Tsubouchi from the township of Mihama-cho in nearby Mie Prefecture downloaded a copy of the movie onto her personal computer through file-sharing software. From September 7 to September 10, she allegedly copied the film onto DVDs and sold them in online auctions to three males in Iwate Prefecture, Hamamatsu City, and Nara Prefectures for a total of 1,500 yen (about US$15).
Source: Sankei News
Image © 2008 Nibariki, GNDHDDT
