An international manhunt by the Japanese government has led to the arrest of Romi Hoshino, the manager behind one of the largest, online manga pirating websites on the internet. Hoshino was arrested in Manila while attempting to leave for Hong Kong.
Hoshino, 27, was arrested Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
Kotaku reports (via
Mainichi News) that the Japanese Embassy in Manilla requested Hoshino’s arrest, and that the police operation was carried out in coordination between Japanese authorities and Phillippine’s Bureau of Immigration.
Hoshino operated the website “Manga-Mura” which was shut down by the Japanese government in April 2018. Prior to that, it was reported that the website drew over 100 million visitors each month and posted some 60,000 manga titles for free online.
NHK reports that Hoshino "played a major role" in operating Manga-Mura.
Manga-Mura was one of three websites the government of Japan approved to be blocked in order to curb internet piracy. Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association estimated that Manga-Mura’s operation cost publishers and IP holders about 319.2 billion yen ($2.93 billion USD).
Hoshino, a Japanese citizen, will be deported to Japan where reports say police have an arrest warrant for Hoshino. He is currently detained in an immigration facility in Manila.
i thought it was MangaFox when they said largest manga site