Manga piracy websites frequently change domain names to remain accessible, with 82.4% of recorded domain changes occurring within 15 days of a previous move, according to findings presented by Tatsuo Ninoseki, a lawyer representing the Japan Publishers Manga Anti-Piracy Conference (JPMAC). The group is now advocating stronger verification of domain registrants to help identify operators behind commercial-scale piracy networks.
As reported by The Register, Ninoseki discussed the issue during a session on domain name system (DNS) abuse at ICANN’s annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia. He highlighted how piracy operators exploit domain registration systems to distribute unauthorized English translations of Japanese manga while generating advertising revenue.
The problem extends beyond individual websites. Ninoseki said some piracy networks have registered domains across 158 top-level domains, allowing operators to move between web addresses when necessary. He also noted that a website registered under the name “David Beckham,” referring to someone other than the famous footballer, briefly became the world’s second-most-visited source of pirated Japanese manga in February 2025.
How Manga Piracy Networks Avoid Enforcement
Piracy operators often maintain several domains and redirect visitors between them. Even when one address becomes inaccessible or disappears from search results, another website with a similar name can continue distributing unauthorized content.
According to Ninoseki, 82.4% of domain hops occur within 15 days of the previous change. However, he cautioned against assuming every move is a response to enforcement efforts, stating,
“Many domain hops do not appear to be a reaction to legal countermeasures.”
JPMAC focuses its efforts on commercial-scale piracy operations rather than pursuing every individual who accesses copyrighted material. Its methods include legal notices and other enforcement measures targeting websites distributing unauthorized manga.
Ninoseki believes more thorough verification of domain registrants could help publishers identify piracy operators. In particular, checking whether the physical addresses supplied during registration are genuine could make it harder for operators to hide behind false identities while maintaining networks of websites.
The issue was raised during discussions about DNS abuse at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The organization is developing a policy initiative known as PDP1, which could require registries to examine other domains held by a customer when one domain is identified as being involved in DNS abuse.
If implemented as proposed, this approach could help investigators identify additional suspicious domains associated with the same registrant instead of treating every website as an isolated case.
For manga publishers, the challenge is to disrupt large-scale piracy networks that can quickly shift between addresses. Stronger identity verification could offer another enforcement tool, although it would not necessarily eliminate piracy on its own.
