Currently Online 
Do you know why anime is big in the west now? Fansubs. I was there back then, trading VHS tapes on the internet because Japanese companies wouldn't bring over anything over except Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and some horribly butchered versions of a few other titles with supposed mass appeal. They said there was no interest in the west in anything else. I had to trade for tapes of Hana Yori Dango that were recorded from television. I had to look everywhere for someone subbing Kodocha.
Finally, finally, they realized that if so many people were bending over backwards to watch their product, maybe there was an audience after all.
Even then, most of the completely sucked with their distribution methods, expecting people to buy expensive tapes and discs without the benefit of television exposure. That's ridiculous, to be honest, and totally unlike how it works in Japan.
Also, before you make childish generalizations, remember that a lot of translators are very respectful of the source material and stop work when something is licensed in the west. The site where I read manga takes down anything immediately if anyone with rights to the content asks.
"*(in fact most Western countries are richer than Japan)" -- You've got to be kidding.
The main reason there are fansubs of Japanese films, dramas, and manga is that there are no officially translated versions in the west. In these cases, the creators are losing nothing at all because no one is going to buy a work they cannot understand. Instead, the fact that that people can get ahold of the material at all creates interest. We've seen this happen with anime.
Content that is licensed is a different story but, in some cases, the rights-holders seriously need to improve their distribution methods. Piracy is often a crime of convenience that can be prevented by making the official method more accessible.
