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On April 13, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a joint meeting of the Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters and the Ministerial Meeting Concerning Measures Against Crime at the Prime Minister's Office.
 
In the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister said,
 
“The damages caused by pirated content websites illegally posting the manga, anime, and other content produced in Japan have grown rapidly over the past few months. The profits that should be going to manga artists and creators are being taken away from them by pirated content websites, which could lead to a situation that threatens the future of Japan’s content industry.
 
Paying respect to these works, which are the products of the immense effort put into them by their creators, and giving them legitimate compensation for their works, provide encouragement to creators, give rise to their next works, and support Japan as a nation of culture. The Government must implement swift measures on this issue, with the expectation that everyone who enjoys manga, anime, and other creations, from children to adults, will come to share our understanding of this.
 
As such, under the leadership of the ministries and agencies concerned with the copyright system, content industry, electronic communications business, and other relevant areas, I would like to ask that Government-wide efforts be undertaken to immediately compile response measures, including mid- to long-term initiatives, and implement them as early as possible, starting from what is currently possible.”
 
Based on this statement, the meeting discussed the issues related to pirated content websites and approved the emergency measures.