As stated in the news release on June 3, 2019, the resolution on “Private Copying Compensation System” was adopted at the CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) General Assembly on May 30, 2019, which is one of the priority issues concerning Japan’s copyright system.

The content shows that in order to structure the functional recovery of private copying compensation system in Japan, CISAC fully supports all sorts of JASRAC’s claims and activities, as well as urging the government of Japan “To expeditiously establish a new, functional, updated, modern and equitable private copying remuneration system”. (Link)

Behind this background, the transition of total amount of compensation in Japan drops from its peak in 2000, which was over 4,036 million JPY to 33 million JPY in 2017. (Please refer the chart below)

CISAC/JASRAC Press Conference Document (May 31)

The reason why the total amount of compensation is decreasing is because Japan’s current private copying law only covers recording equipment and media formats such as DAT, DVV, or MD etc. for private audio recording, and analog-to-digital converted videos recording devices for private video recording, that are now largely obsolete. Portable audio players or Blu-ray disc recorders with hard drive, which are widely used nowadays, are not currently eligible for compensation. (Please refer the chart below)

CISAC/JASRAC Press Conference Document (May 31)

On the other hand, CISAC’s Global Collections Report showed that global private copying collections all totaled more than \58.08 billion (€4.84 million) in 2018, which has continuously been in upward trend. (Please refer the chart below)

CISAC/JASRAC Press Conference Document (May 31)

Turning to the international situation, many countries affiliated with the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has implemented private copying compensation system. (Please refer the chart below)

CISAC/JASRAC Press Conference Document (May 31)

Furthermore, looking at the ratio of compensation collected by music copyright management organizations, it can be seen that the same system is practically functioning in many countries including Germany and France. (Please refer the chart below) In Japan, where the system has been emasculated, it is less than 1/100 compared to the major countries.

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