China: “World’s largest” manga piracy site shuttered
January 29, 2026
In November 2025, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau of China searched the residence of a man living in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on suspicion of copyright infringement. The suspect is alleged to have operated what the China Overseas Development Association (CODA) called “the world’s largest” manga piracy site, BATO.TO (plus approximately 60 related sites), and to have illegally distributed Japanese manga and other works without authorisation from rights holders after translating them into more than 50 languages, including English. In May 2025 alone, these 60 sites recorded a combined 350 million visits.
The man was detained, questioned, and has since been released on bail. He admitted to operating all of the related sites and is expected to be formally indicted in due course.
Authorities have seized his personal computers and continue to investigate server data, the operational structure of the sites, and information regarding individuals involved in their operation. CODA has also confirmed that individuals involved in operating these sites, as well as in posting and translating content through related social media channels, are located in multiple countries worldwide. CODA will therefore continue its investigations through international cooperation.
Although the group of sites continued limited operation temporarily after the suspect’s detention for evidence preservation purposes, related parties later announced the shutdown of the services on social media. By January 19th, the closure of all 60 sites had been confirmed.
The case was initiated following requests from Japanese publishers – Kodansha, Kadokawa, Shueisha, Square Enix and Shogakukan. On September 25th 2025, CODA’s Beijing Office filed a criminal complaint with the public security bureau of China on behalf of these publishers. In addition, as part of its international collaboration efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of anti-piracy measures, CODA sought cooperation from China Literature Limited, a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings and one of China’s largest online literature platforms. China Literature confirmed that its comics had been unlawfully distributed on BATO.TO, and filed a criminal complaint in coordination with CODA. The fact that these coordinated efforts between Japan and China led to criminal enforcement represents a significant achievement in advancing international intellectual property protection.
BATO.TO was launched in 2014 as a user-submitted piracy site. The platform hosted unauthorised uploads of popular manga from Japan, Korea and China, distributed globally. The site employed geoblocking to prevent access from within China, thereby creating the appearance that no infringement was occurring domestically, while in reality attracting massive global traffic and generating substantial illicit advertising revenue – which exceeded RMB 400,000 (approximately €43.630) in peak months.
CODA reports that by operating numerous sites in parallel and dispersing traffic, the operator was able to evade enforcement measures such as crackdowns and site blocking in various countries, allowing large-scale infringement to continue globally over an extended period.
Many of the unauthorized translated manga uploaded to BATO.TO were produced through so-called ‘scanlation’, in which organised teams known as scanlation groups scan manga, remove the original text, insert translated text, and distribute the works online, causing widespread global infringement. In recent years, as Japanese manga and anime have gained increasing worldwide popularity and AI technologies have advanced, the damage caused by such unauthorised manga translations has intensified, with BATO.TO regarded as one of the major distribution hubs.
Takero Goto, Representative Director of CODA, commented: “The closure of the world’s largest manga piracy site through criminal enforcement is highly significant for cross-border anti-piracy efforts. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Chinese authorities, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and all others involved who devoted their efforts to this case.”
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