Japan is putting more and more effort into stopping the online rampage of illegal anime distribution. Just a few days ago, this very issue was the subject of a formal request issued by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), to the government of the United States no less. The news was picked up by ANN, revealing a bit more about what was discussed during the Japan-U.S. Trade Forum held on October 18:

"[Japan's statement] included a request for the United States to help stop the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of Japanese animation online. Specifically, the formal statement mentions the spread of Japanese animation and other materials on video-sharing sites and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.

(...) Despite frequent requests to remove unauthorized material from sites with user-submitted videos, the ministry says the fundamental problem remains unresolved for the foreseeable future. The ministry also says that the high legal costs and complex procedures of copyright infringement cases against peer-to-peer file-sharing are issues."

"Video-sharing sites"? "Peer-to-peer file-sharing networks"? I have no idea what they're talking about...