"In the first major mass removal of content in its history, YouTube has removed nearly 30,000 videos after being contacted by a number of Japanese rights-holders, according to the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). The group says that its members found 29,549 videos on YouTube that contain unauthorized materials taken from Japanese sources, including movies, music videos, and television. Japanese broadcast giant NHK was among those seeking the removal of materials," reports Ars Technica.
Comment: Quite how much has been removed so far, if anything, is an interesting question, because searches like this and even this still seem to work OK. But presumably all the Japanese stuff will all be removed eventually, making YouTube far less interesting than it is today.
