Heck no. As per the Berne Convention they are 100% illegal even in the western world and can only survive due to the neglect or lack of legal resources---I have seen multiple cases where artists were well aware of scanlations but couldn't fight against them because of that. A legal way to do scanlation would be always welcomed (and there have been varying degree of successes in other areas), but it is just wrong to claim that they are somehow legitimate at all.