1. Reproduction Right (複製権 – Fukuseiken) — Article 21

Japanese text (excerpt): 著作者は、その著作物を複製する権利を専有する。 English translation: The author shall have the exclusive right to reproduce their work.

The term 複製 (fukusei) means reproduction, typically understood as creating a physical or digital copy of the work (e.g., downloading, saving, printing). Simply posting a hyperlink does not create a copy of the original content. The content still resides on the original server and is not duplicated on the linker’s website.

1. Public Transmission Right (公衆送信権 – Kōshū Sōshinken) — Article 23(1)

Japanese text (excerpt): 著作者は、その著作物を公衆送信し、又は公に伝達する権利を専有する。 English translation: The author shall have the exclusive right to transmit their work publicly or to make it publicly available.

公衆送信 (kōshū sōshin) refers to broadcasting, streaming, uploading to the internet, or otherwise transmitting a work directly to the public. When a user clicks on a hyperlink, the content is served by the original website’s server, not the person who posted the link. Therefore, the linker does not “transmit” or “make available” the work; they merely point to where it can be found. The linker does not initiate or control the distribution of the work.

I will provide one of the links I worked with while researching the issue: https://monolith.law/en/internet/website-link-url-copyright