The article later clarifies that the actual crime was to post extensive screenshots and descriptions of movies on his blogs, to such detail that it was essentially like reading a picture-book adaptation of the movie. This is really not the same as "posting spoilers."

In the US, it is the responsibility of copyright holders to protect their IP through tort litigation. Japan is so captured by industry that they will put people in prison for what should be a civil matter. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that it's mostly the IP of large corporations that is protected by criminal law. It's as if the police were to volunteer to be personal bodyguards for rich people. It's understandable, though: Japanese popular media is a core part of their "Cool Japan" soft power foreign policy strategy.

For me, there is a sign-up modal overlay that prevents reading or scrolling, even though the entire article loads. How did others manage to read the article?