The founder of the well-known Japanese content sharing site FC2, Takahashi Rihiro, was arrested today (8th) at Kansai International Airport in Japan by the police on charges of distributing obscene videos. The news of Takahashi's arrest quickly sparked heated discussions in Japanese communities, and the widely discussed 'tools are guilty' theory in the cryptocurrency industry has resurfaced. (Background: Tornado Cash is facing a trial in the U.S. with a maximum sentence of 45 years; is programming considered money laundering?) (Background Supplement: The Tragic Tale of Open Source Software) The founder of the mixing tool Tornado Cash was sentenced to 64 months in prison, found guilty of money laundering. Takahashi Rihiro, the founder of the well-known Japanese content sharing site FC2, was arrested today (8th) at Kansai International Airport for allegedly distributing obscene videos, and this news has rapidly sparked fervent discussions in Japanese online communities. Wanted by Japan since 2013 According to 4Gamer reports, the 51-year-old founder Takahashi Rihiro has stated that he was issued an international arrest warrant by Japanese police in June 2013 for allegedly conspiring with other online service providers to allow users to view obscene videos uploaded by registered members. It is understood that Takahashi stated he has been wandering the world since 2015 and has married an American woman to obtain a green card, but due to being wanted by Japanese police, he has resigned from his position as president of FC2: "Since around 2015, I have been living a life of moving around the world, unable to return to Japan. This is because I am on the so-called 'international wanted list.'" Mixed Reactions in Japanese Communities According to Japanese media Livedoor, Takahashi Rihiro was arrested yesterday (7th) upon returning from Korea to Kansai International Airport. In response, Japanese netizens have very mixed opinions; some believe that Japanese police have acted too slowly, as FC2 has long been popular in Japan, while a few think that Takahashi's recent action was a planned 'surrender' agreed upon with his lawyer. Others argue that the current internet culture is already open and transparent, and even if users post pornographic content on the social platform X, it wouldn’t lead to the arrest of X’s CEO Elon Musk, just as a criminal who commits murder with a gun may not be caught, but the manufacturer of the gun is guilty. Therefore, netizens also suggest that the Japanese government amend the relevant laws regarding the 'tools are guilty' theory to allow internet developers to develop freely. 4Gamer cited the Winny incident as an example, hoping not to repeat past mistakes. The developer of the P2P software Winny, Kazunoko Isamu, was arrested and prosecuted for his software being used for illegal sharing of copyrighted content, triggering widespread discussion about platform developers' responsibilities. What is FC2? fc2.com is operated by FC2 Inc., founded in 1999, primarily as a site for sharing videos, images, and text content. The site ranked third in user numbers in Japan in 2013, with 'adult videos' being the most well-known. In addition to operating video sites, FC2 Inc. also provides services such as domain sales and application development. However, since FC2 Inc. is headquartered in the United States, Japanese law cannot intervene in its gray area, leading to content that infringes copyright, illegal recordings, unlicensed (prohibited in Japan), and unverifiable forced sexual content. Is the Tool Guilty? The news of Takahashi Rihiro's arrest has also sparked discussions in the cryptocurrency industry, as some individuals, fearing that purchasing FC2 points with credit cards or at convenience stores would leave a record, might use cryptocurrency to find proxies online. On the other hand, this incident has led to further discussions on the 'tools are guilty' theory. For instance, the recent Ethereum mixer protocol Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly being used for money laundering by North Korean hackers. Moreover, three co-founders of Tornado Cash, Alexey Pertsev, Roman Storm, and Roman Semenov, have also been indicted, with Alexey Pertsev having been sentenced to 64 months in prison in May of this year. Further Reading: The Tragic Tale of Open Source Software) The founder of the mixing tool Tornado Cash was sentenced to 64 months in prison, found guilty of money laundering. Related Reports: To be frank: Is Polymarket a good prediction tool? Monitoring, following, sniping... A complete guide to chain scanning tools to catch the Pump.fun meme coin craze. AI deepfake new tools can crack 'exchange KYC' in a second; how to prevent it, and how will it affect the coin circle? "Japanese FC2 founder arrested; will unlicensed AV disappear? The community reignites the debate on the theory of tools being guilty." This article was originally published on BlockTempo (probably the most influential blockchain news media).