The Japanese Diet legislature voted on Thursday to ratify the Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The Inquirer reports that the agreement was rushed through the House in the middle of the night, in a matter of minutes. According to Tech Dirt, the upper house of the legislature had already voted to ratify the agreement last summer.
On September 9, Anonymous Japan and other anti-ACTA groups will hold a protest in Tokyo. They are also protesting recent downloading legislation that includes draconian criminal penalties for noncommercial infringement.
ACTA is designed to take effect once six countries have ratified the agreement, so it is possible that the agreement could take effect without ratification by EU Member countries.
