Top Chinese video-sharing sites remove Japanese content
Both Youku and Tudou have removed the "Japan" category from the list of countries in the "movies" section, making it harder for site users to find Japanese content.
Youku and Tudou, two of China’s leading video-hosting sites, which allow users to upload their own videos, often stream pirated programs uploaded by internet users in China, including Japanese movies, anime and television series. Youku and Tudou are China's top two online video streaming websites with a combined reach of up to 310 million unique viewers per week. A recent report from Chinese research firm iResearch estimated that Youku Tudou serves 1.6 billion hours of video every month.
The removal of Japanese content from the websites is widely speculated to be related to the ongoing diplomatic friction between China and Japan over the disputed islands of Diaoyu. Both China and Japan lay claim to the islands of Diaoyu, also known as the Senkaku islands in Japan.
This development is expected to be well-received by the Tokyo-based Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), which fights against the piracy of Japanese films and television programs. Since 2009, CODA has been pushing for website operators outside of Japan to delete pirated Japanese videos. According to the daily, over the past year, CODA launched crackdowns on various Chinese video-sharing websites, including Yukou and Tudou, for copyright infringement, resulting in the deletion of tens of thousands of pirated videos.
The removal of Japanese content on Yukou and Tudou comes in the wake of anti-Japanese sentiment in China over the Diaoyu islands, which even saw the sale of anti-Japan mooncakes bearing “Bite Little Japan to death!” slogans, reported the Guardian newspaper last month.
