Record fake goods flowing into Japan

Japan has seized a record high number of counterfeit goods since the beginning of the year, mostly coming via China and South Korea, police said Thursday.

The counterfeit products flowing into the world's second largest economy included fake designer label bags and attire, as well as a growing amount of pirated software and DVDs.

The number of seized goods in the first six months of this year topped 330,000, nearly 2.7 times more than in the same period last year and more than the annual total in previous years, the National Police Agency said.

Nearly 46 percent of counterfeit goods originated from mainland China, followed by 37 percent from South Korea and 16 percent from Hong Kong. "Made in Japan" fake goods accounted only for one percent, the agency said.

Yet more than 73 percent of the criminals involved in the imports of fake goods were Japanese, it said. Most of the goods are air or sea-shipped.

China, in the face of persistent demands by the United States and other trading partners, has pledged to crack down on its huge counterfeit goods industry, although such markets remain widely active and open.

The United States in April formally lodged a complaint against China at the World Trade Organisation over copyright piracy.

In the six months to June, police apprehended 419 people over intellectual property rights violations, the police agency said.

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