While the Japanese public watched a cult leader get arrested, their leaders in government quietly made a move that could make watching YouTube illegal in Japan.

The Entertainment Software Association no longer supports the Stop Online Piracy Act, the controversial anti-piracy bill that was shelved earlier in the US House of Representatives after a week of fierce online protests.

The Stop Online Piracy Act continues to fizzle and is, for all intents and purposes, dead. US congressman Lamar Smith, who wrote the law and staunchly defended it for weeks amid protests that it would disrupt online speech, announced today he is postponing any further action on the bill.

Support for PIPA, the Senate version of the notorious Stop Online Piracy Act, is dwindling faster than most media outlets can keep up with them. If you woke up to an article today that reported that X number of senators have dropped their support for the Protect IP Act, you can assume they under-counted.

In a statement made on his Facebook page, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) announced that he is withdrawing his support for the Protect IP Act, which he co-sponsored, though he still supports "the original intent of bill".

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has issued a statement that due to Republican and Democratic "retreats", hearings regarding the controversial Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) will resume in February. SOPA's Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act, is scheduled for a vote on January 24.