The ruling issued in Tokyo against Cloudflare marks a major step in the fight that Shueisha, Kodansha, Shogakukan and Kadokawa. According to the decision, the American company facilitated the large-scale distribution of pirated content through the very structure of its CDN services. Although the overall damages recognized were colossal, the court awarded approximately 500 million yen, corresponding solely to the amount claimed in this proceeding. For the publishers, this penalty should send a strong signal and pave the way for more responsible use of the digital infrastructure that supports the circulation of content online.

The court notably found that Cloudflare allowed numerous piracy sites to conceal the identities of their administrators, a vulnerability that Kodansha had already denounced. In their joint statement, the publishers welcomed a verdict that, in their view, will help better protect creative works and creators’ rights. This victory comes as the piracy ecosystem evolves rapidly, with some networks still attracting hundreds of millions of monthly visits by distributing thousands of chapters of popular manga. The plaintiffs point out that CDN services are useful when they support the legitimate distribution of content, but become problematic when they allow illicit platforms to thrive.

In recent months, several highly trafficked piracy platforms have been hit by major operations: AniWave (formerly 9Anime) became inaccessible, while Japanese authorities announced that they had neutralized 84 international anime piracy sites through cooperation between official agencies and cybersecurity experts. At the same time, MangaDex was forced to remove approximately 7,000 titles following a wave of DMCA notices, and other sites such as Comick abruptly ceased operations. Some services, such as HiAnime, now appear on international watchlists, indicating that the fight against piracy is becoming more coordinated and proactive.

In this context, Japanese publishers are continuing their legal actions abroad and strengthening their participation in networks such as IAPO, created to facilitate cross-border investigations related to manga and anime piracy. Their goal is to ensure an environment in which works can circulate legally, whether in digital formats, anime adaptations, live-action productions or any type of remake. In the face of the gradual closure of numerous illegal platforms, the publishers hope that these actions will help rebalance a market weakened by years of unauthorized distribution and strengthen the value of original creation.