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CITY officials have shut down a Website that allowed users to watch or post videos based on the banned Japanese novel "Death Note," a book said to promote death fantasies.
The novel tells the story of a teenage boy who receives a special notebook. Whenever he writes the name of an enemy in the book, along with a description of how and when that person dies, the enemy dies exactly as described.
The book caused a sensation in Japan, with many youngsters buying similar notebooks to describe the deaths of people they hate. When the trend began to show up in China, the novel and all related products were banned nationwide.
Owners of the Website (www.dofor.cn) could face a fine if authorities prove they set it up without a proper license, officials said yesterday.
All of the videos on the site - cartoon and live action descriptions of hoped-for deaths - have been deleted from the site, according to Yang Yong, an official with the Shanghai Culture Inspection General Team.
The inspection team received a tip that videos related to "Death Note" were posted on the Dofor Website earlier this month.
The site is owned by Shanghai Sanzhi Digital Technology Co Ltd, which is based in the Pudong Software Park.
"This is the first Website we have caught to spread 'Death Note.' We welcome reports about other Shanghai-based Websites involved in spreading such works," Yang said.
A national campaign in May led to the seizure of copies of the Japanese novel and many related products, included black-covered notebooks similar to the one in the book.
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