News
Japanese Man Arrested for Fake Anime/Game Stickers
posted on by Gia Manry
A shop owner in the Japanese prefecture of Chiba has been arrested and has allegedly admitted to selling illicit game console "skin" stickers featuring art from Studio Ghibli's anime films, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service.
33-year-old Daisuke Yamashita of Matsudo City (about 30 kilometers or 20 miles east of Tokyo) has been charged with selling two counterfeit stickers and possessing 13 more, all with Studio Ghibli artwork. Police seized approximately 1,319 forged stickers from Yamashita's home, and believes them to be imported from China. The seized stickers feature art from franchises such as Pokémon and Final Fantasy as well as other works for a total of 53 characters.
Police say that Yamashita sold the pair of stickers in an online auction for 3,160 yen (about US$34.60), and they suspect he has earned over 2 million yen (US$22,000) from selling similar knockoffs.
Sources: Mainichi Shinbun, Asahi Shinbun
