TOKYO (TR) – The management company for the .jp top-level domain earlier this month shut down a domain once reserved for an educational institution after it was used by a commercial sex (fuzoku) service, it has been learned, reports Sankei Sports (Apr. 24).
According to Japan Registry Services Co. (JPRS), a man obtained the domain yamanashi－med.ac.jp last December with the intention of providing visitors with referrals to a number of a sex businesses.
Domains ending in ac.jp are earmarked only for universities or incorporated education institutions. The domain in question went unused at some point after the integration of the University of Yamanashi and Yamanashi Medical University in 2002.
“I thought that the number of viewers would increase and I could get ad revenue,” the man was quoted regarding his reasoning for obtaining the domain.
On April 5, JPRS learned that the domain was being used by the sex service. An investigation revealed that JPRS was negligent in confirming that a domain registrar company met the necessary qualifications to operate. JPRS then made sure that the site could not be browsed within the next five days.
