Japanese companies plan to cut off the Internet connection of anyone who illegally downloads files in one of the world's toughest measures against online piracy, a report said Saturday. Faced with mounting complaints from the music, movie and video-game industries, four associations representing Japan's Internet service providers have agreed to take drastic action, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said service providers would send e-mails to people who repeatedly made illegal copies and terminate their connections if they did not stop.

The Internet companies will set up a panel next month involving groups representing copyright holders to draft the new guidelines, the report said.

Today, the Japanese Internet Providers Association (JAIPA) officially released a draft version of the "Bandwidth control guidelines" for ISPs, which is available in Japanese at here.

France late last year outlined similar measures to disconnect Internet users who flagrantly violated copyright laws.

Swedish courts will also soon be able to force local Internet providers to produce information on suspected file-sharers in a move to crackdown on piracy.

According to JAIPA, 1.75 million people in Japan use file-sharing software, mostly to swap illegal copies.