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AI translated Text:

'Notice regarding the shutdown of the Manga Library Z website' https://closing.mangaz.com The J Comic, now Manga Library Z, which I set up 14 years ago, has taken the decision to shut down its website on 26 November. Although I have already retired from management, the text of this announcement is written on my behalf. First, an explanation of the service itself: Manga Library Z is an advertising revenue-generating website that distributes e-books, mainly out-of-print manga, for free and returns advertising revenue to the authors. The server and other costs were mainly paid for by premium membership fees. The direct cause of the site shutdown this time was that the payment agency notified us that it was terminating the entire payment service, including payment methods other than credit card payments. All credit card companies, including JCB, suddenly became unusable, as well as all other payment methods (except Bitcash). On top of that, even the payments for months that had already passed were withheld, and the premium membership fee for that period (and future ones) was no longer coming in at all, so we were stuck in a situation where we couldn't even pay for the server. The Manga Library Z management staff discussed the situation and came to the conclusion that it was impossible to operate the site solely on Bitcash revenues, that even if we found an alternative payment agent, the same phenomenon might occur again, and that we did not want to survive by deleting only some of the works. The decision to shut down the site was based on the following reasons. We deeply apologise that the period between notification and withholding of payment was so short that we had to "give in to the payment service providers". However, this time we were able to obtain accurate information (as only the parties concerned can) on the following: - On what basis they declare the suspension of payment services - How much penalty will come and how long it will last - What specific measures were taken to avoid it, so that we can link this to more legitimate investigations and hearings. I think I can do it. In the past, 'Love Hina' was banned by Apple's e-book app and later restored, and we still often cite that experience as a 'concrete experience example' for 'protecting freedom of expression', and we use it effectively. In recent years, unprecedented 'strong conditions' and 'strong penalties' have been issued by payment services, and if these are left unchecked, the situation is certain to become a problem not only for e-books but for the Japanese content industry as a whole. As the party that was actually forced to close down the site, we are determined to come up with more accurate countermeasures. We would be grateful for your support.

Archive of closing.mangaz.com

AI translated Text:

It is with great regret that we have to inform you that, as stated in an announcement dated 5 November, the 'Manga Library Z' has taken the decision to discontinue its e-book internet distribution service. Although "Manga Library Z" has made a group of rare works, mainly manga that have already gone out of print and have not yet even been digitised, available again for free, and has been returning advertising revenue to their authors for more than a decade, in recent years it has increasingly struggled to cope in terms of payment services (such as with credit card companies). The character Hanpen-kun by Ken Akamatsu was created at the time of the J Comic's establishment 2010 release. Fourteen years ago, when manga artist Ken Akamatsu launched the predecessor service J Comi, e-books were still not very common and there were only a few services where manga could be read on the internet. In this context, J Comi was a pioneering e-book service that allowed anyone to read manga for free. In the 14 years since then, even though the name of the service has changed, the staff of the Manga Library Z are all grateful to all the authors and users for their long-time support. At the same time, we also feel responsible for continuing to operate the site with the thoughts of so many people on our shoulders. We can only regret that we have reached a situation where we have had to shut down the website. Special campaigns are also held every year where you can have a drink with the teacher of your dreams. As you will see in the announcement dated 29 October, last month we received a notice from the settlement agent that we had to terminate all settlement service contracts at the end of October. We discussed this with the settlement agent as soon as possible, but the decision was made by the credit card company and we were already in a situation where we could not overturn the decision. We made a series of urgent financial calculations and discussions, and discussed the future operation of the site until the very last minute every day, but we decided to suspend the site, as we judged that continuing to operate the site in a way that would make it impossible to return profits to authors would ultimately betray the trust of authors and users. We apologise for this decision. Over 100 teachers contributed to the fifth anniversary of Manga Library Z. The site itself is currently scheduled to be shut down at 12pm on 26 November, but J Comic Terrace Ltd, which operates Manga Library Z, is also involved in the 'wholesale business' of providing works to other companies' stores, and we would like to give back to all participating authors by continuing to focus on the wholesale business in the future. However, the website will be closed completely. However, the site will not be closed completely. We will continue to discuss this with the relevant parties and explore ways to re-launch the site. Although it is still only a narrow path, we will also consider moving to a non-profit organisation and crowdfunding. We hope that one day we will be able to bring manga to you again. We have also been working on the attempt to make our manga available on Youtube and to support apps earlier than anywhere else. We would like to thank all the artists, users and everyone who has supported and cooperated with us over the past 14 years. J Comic Terrace Ltd. Manga Library Z Management Staff