Japan CDs made abroad face five-year import ban: agency

The Cultural Affairs Agency is considering a ban on importing Japanese music CDs manufactured overseas until about five years after their release, government sources said Monday.

The low-priced Japanese music CDs are made abroad for overseas markets, and are cheaper than those manufactured domestically.

Japanese companies have complained that their business is being hurt by the imports.

The discs are manufactured under licensing contracts with Japanese record companies, mostly in other parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

The ban would be contained in a revised Copyright Law being eyed by the agency that would also allow music providers to charge copyright fees to CD rental shops.

The duration of the proposed ban will be set by the agency in the form of a directive following the legal amendment. The agency is considering a period of about five years, they said.

The revised law would also raise the maximum fine for corporate copyright violators to 150 million yen from 100 million yen, and the maximum prison term for offenders from three years to five, they said.

The agency plans to present a related bill to the Diet during the current legislative session in the hope the revisions will take effect next January, the sources said.

The revised law would allow imports of Japanese music CDs in cases where the imports would not hurt domestic sales of such CDs, for reasons such as inflation in the exporting economies or a cut in CD prices in Japan, the sources said.

The agency is adding this provision in consideration of concerns raised by the Fair Trade Commission that the proposed ban could infringe on the Antimonopoly Law.

Consumer groups have also complained that the agency's move would deprive Japanese consumers of access to inexpensive CDs.

Like publications, CDs are subject to the Copyright Law, but they are not currently protected under the law when imported into Japan.

Japanese record companies allow overseas makers to produce and sell their CDs under license contracts on condition that the products are not sold in Japan. However, it is currently lawful for a third party to import them to Japan, and many are sold at discount stores here.

CDs by Japanese pop idols like Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada are sold here for 2,500 yen to 3,000 yen. Made-in-Taiwan versions of the CDs are sold there for 1,000 yen to 1,600 yen, and they are available for around 2,000 yen after being imported to Japan.