Unauthorized mask covers with popular anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" characters printed on them are seen at the Metropolitan Police Department's Itabashi Police Station on Oct. 21, 2021. (Mainichi/Takuya Suzuki)

       TOKYO -- A man was referred to prosecutors on Oct. 21 for allegedly selling mask covers with unauthorized images of characters from popular anime series "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" and "Jujutsu Kaisen" on them.

       The Metropolitan Police Department's Itabashi Police Station sent papers on a 66-year-old part-time worker living in the central Japan city of Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, on suspicion of violating the Copyright Act.

       Unauthorized mask covers with popular anime "Jujutsu Kaisen" characters printed on them are seen at the Metropolitan Police Department's Itabashi Police Station on Oct. 21, 2021. (Mainichi/Takuya Suzuki)

       He allegedly sold via online auction three cloth mask covers on around April 23 with prints of popular characters from the "Demon Slayer" anime, including Tanjiro Kamado and Mitsuri Kanroji, while knowing they were made without the permission of copyright holders including the anime production company. He also allegedly infringed copyright by possessing four mask covers with characters including Yuji Itadori from "Jujutsu Kaisen" and ones from "Demon Slayer" on July 16.

       According to the police station, the man has admitted to the allegations, and was quoted saying, "I thought many people would buy them if I used popular characters." Police will investigate the case under the belief he made the mask covers at home and earned about 300,000 yen (approximately $2,600) between April 2020 and July 2021. An officer at the police station found the unauthorized mask covers during a cyber patrol, and investigated the case.

       (Japanese original by Buntaro Saito, Tokyo City News Department)

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