Nara Prefecture Police had arrested a couple on suspicion of violating Japan's Copyright Act by selling unauthorized, custom One Piece manga and anime figures. These figures are thought to have been imported from China.
Takahiro Nakamura, a 46-year-old company employee, along with his wife Noriko was arrested on Thursday. According to the wife, they began selling the figures about 18 months ago and made a total profit of about 800,000 yen. The police believe that the two sold the figures to about 160 individuals across 37 of Japan's 47 prefectures.
The police also searched their place and seized an approximate of 2,000 figures that are believed to have been imported from China.
Just a few weeks ago, a man was arrested by the Chiba Prefecture Police over nude and customized One Piece figures. Over 50 figures were seized when the police raided his home.
Sources: Tokyo Shimbun via Anime News Network
