One of the world’s largest manga piracy sites shut down as operator faces charges

One of the world’s largest manga piracy networks has been shut down, and its owner is expected to face criminal charges following a joint international investigation.

In an announcement released on January 29, Japan’s Content Overseas Distribution Association said Chinese authorities searched the residence of a man living in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in November 2025 on suspicion of copyright infringement.

The suspect is accused of operating a pirate manga site Bato.to, alongside a network of around 60 related piracy sites. He has since been released on bail but has admitted to running the sites and is expected to be formally indicted.

Major pirate manga site closes down

Launched in 2014, Bato.to grew into a massive piracy hub hosting unauthorized uploads of manga from Japan, Korea, and China, translated into more than 50 languages. CODA said the operator played a central role in running the platform from at least 2018 and oversaw a system designed to evade enforcement by spreading traffic across multiple domains.

CODA reported that the 60 related sites recorded a combined 350 million visits in May 2025 alone, with total traffic between October 2022 and October 2025 reaching approximately 7.2 billion visits.

Based on estimated values per manga view, the organization placed the economic impact at around 770 billion yen, roughly $5.1 billion USD. During peak months, the operator also allegedly earned more than around $55,000 USD in advertising revenue.

Authorities seized the suspect’s computers and are now continuing to examine server data and operational records. While the sites briefly remained online for evidence preservation, CODA confirmed that all 60 linked domains were fully shut down by January 19, 2026.

This news follows an announcement that Japan suffered a $38 billion loss over anime piracy in 2025, while the government is investing $650k USD to build an AI system capable of spotting stolen manga pages and identifying where they are being distributed.