Vietnam's Piracy Crackdown Turns to Japanese Content in CODA-Backed Case

Police in Hanoi have opened a criminal case against three people accused of running a pirate site and app that streamed Japanese anime, films and TV dramas. Japan's anti-piracy organization CODA says it is the first criminal enforcement action in Vietnam over infringement of Japanese content.

The site itself was small. The case stands out because Japanese rightsholders helped build it, at a time when Vietnam is under growing pressure from both Japan and the United States to act against piracy.

Three suspects, one site and one app

The Economic Police Division of the Hanoi City Police announced on August 1 that it had started criminal proceedings for infringement of copyright and related rights, according to CODA's announcement.

The case covers a 23-year-old man from Dong Nai Province, accused of running the Phim Nè website, and two 29-year-old men from Da Nang, accused of running an app with the same name.

According to CODA, the site launched in June 2025 and offered films and other content from Japan, the United States and Vietnam with Vietnamese subtitles or dubbing. It reportedly used automated tools to collect its source material.

The app let users watch for 15 minutes before asking for a membership fee. Between early 2025 and April 2026, it took in about 415 million Vietnamese dong (about 2.56 million yen) through 6,451 payments, CODA says.

By piracy standards, the operation was modest. CODA counts 1,090 registered members and more than 90,000 visits in total, with a peak of just over 20,000 visits in a single month.

Searches in June

Police carried out coordinated searches on June 22 and seized computers, other electronic devices and storage media. During questioning, the suspects admitted to running the website and the app, according to CODA.

The case is now proceeding as a formal criminal case. When CODA announced it on August 7, the police investigation was still continuing with a view to prosecution. No indictment has been reported since.

Japanese rightsholders involved

CODA worked with IP FORWARD, a law firm with an office in Vietnam, and its local partner MNB Law Firm. In May, they investigated the site and documented the damage to Japanese works while supporting the police investigation.

Anime studio TMS Entertainment and film and animation company Toho confirmed ownership of the infringed works and supplied documents for the investigation. The work was part of a project commissioned by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

CODA Representative Director Takero Goto called the case "an important precedent that will significantly advance future rights enforcement."

"This criminal enforcement action is only the tip of the iceberg," CODA added. The organization says it hopes the case will lead to stronger protection of Japanese content in Vietnam.

Pressure from Tokyo and Washington

CODA says the Japanese government, companies and organizations, including CODA itself, had repeatedly asked Vietnam to act against pirate sites targeting Japanese content, without any criminal enforcement following until now.

According to CODA, the case was made possible by a Prime Minister's Official Telegram that Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung signed in May, directing authorities to eradicate, prevent and act against intellectual property infringement. It launched a nationwide enforcement campaign.

The United States has been pushing in the same direction. In its 2026 Special 301 Report, released on April 30, the US Trade Representative named Vietnam the only "Priority Foreign Country", the most serious category in the report, which can lead to a US trade investigation. The report says Vietnam is "reported to have the highest incidence of online piracy in the Asia-Pacific region."

CODA's own figures point the same way. In a survey published in January 2026, 74.2% of respondents in Vietnam said they had consumed pirated audiovisual content. CODA also says its investigations have traced the operators of many pirate sites to Vietnam, and it opened a CODA Vietnam Center in Ho Chi Minh City in April to speed up takedowns and legal action.

"First" depends on how cases are counted

CODA's "first" label is based on its own research and is limited to cases involving Japanese content. Vietnam has gone after pirate site operators before, in cases driven by the US-based Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

In 2024, Hanoi police shut down the Fmovies network with ACE's help, and TorrentFreak later reported that its two operators received suspended sentences. In July this year, Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security charged seven people over a piracy network that TorrentFreak reported was behind HiAnime, acting on intelligence from US Homeland Security Investigations and ACE.

HiAnime mainly streamed Japanese anime. What sets the Phim Nè case apart is that Japanese rightsholders confirmed the infringed works and supplied evidence themselves, through CODA, in a project commissioned by the Japanese government.

CODA says it will keep cooperating with the Vietnamese authorities throughout the criminal proceedings.