Pokemon Doujinshi Sparked Copyright Arrest

In August 1998, a Japanese woman from Fukuoka City created and sold a fan-made Pokemon manga depicting erotic acts between Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. Nintendo and two other copyright holders filed a complaint a few months later, and Kyoto police arrested her eight days later for violating Japanese copyright law. Police detained her in Kyoto for 22 days, and authorities fined her for selling five copies at 600 yen each and possessing about 100 more for distribution. The case became Japan's first arrest of a doujinshi artist and unsettled the country's amateur manga community.

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