The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a 24-year-old vocational school student on suspicion of copyright infringement after he allegedly recorded Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle inside a theater on its opening day.
The suspect, a Korean national living in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, reportedly filmed the entire movie with a smartphone during its July 18 premiere in a Shinjuku cinema. Police said they discovered a two-hour, 35-minute video of the film on his device. The man, however, denied the charges, claiming he “did not record anything.”
Authorities initially detained the suspect on July 30 for a separate offense, alleging he used a stolen credit card to purchase around 200 anime Blu-ray Discs worth 1.3 million yen. Investigators uncovered the theater recording while examining his phone during that case.
Under Japan’s anti-piracy laws, enacted in 2007, those convicted of illegally recording films in theaters can face up to 10 years in prison or fines of up to 10 million yen.
The arrest comes after the Demon Slayer production committee issued a statement condemning illegal recordings, uploads, and online leaks of Infinity Castle.
The statement warned that the committee would pursue civil and criminal action against piracy and stressed that even anonymous uploaders can be identified. The group said piracy harms fans and undermines the hard work behind the film’s production, urging audiences to watch the movie legally in theaters.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has earned 28.08 billion yen, becoming the third highest-grossing movie of all time in the Japanese Box Office.
The film set a new record as the fastest in Japanese cinema history to earn 10 billion yen. It reached the milestone just eight days after its release, two days faster than the previous record set by Mugen Train.
Ahead of its North American release on Sep 12, Crunchyroll will be hosting an early screening of the film in the United States on Sep 9 exclusively to Crunchyroll Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscribers.
The Infinity Castle film opened in Japan on July 18, grossing over 7.3 billion yen in its opening four-day weekend.
Source: Yahoo Japan
