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Japan\u2019s Justice Ministry advances efforts to secure legal protections against unauthorised use of celebrity voices and images with new guidelines, responding to rising AI misuse and legal challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Japan\u2019s Justice Ministry has moved to strengthen legal protection for people\u2019s voices, with an expert panel agreeing that unauthorised use of celebrity speech and singing may fall under publicity and portrait rights as generative artificial intelligence increasingly blurs the line between imitation and identity.<\/p>\n
The panel reached the conclusion at its first meeting on Friday, as officials begin work on guidance that would clarify when AI-generated content crosses into unlawful territory under existing civil law. The ministry wants those standards in place by this summer, a timetable that would give victims a clearer path to civil claims without waiting for a broader rewrite of the law.<\/p>\n
The push comes amid a surge in complaints over “AI covers” built from the voices of singers and voice actors, alongside a rising volume of sexual deepfakes made by altering actors\u2019 images and video. Japan\u2019s Justice Ministry had already signalled in mid-April that it would set up a study group to examine how tort law applies to synthetic voices, deepfake clips and explicit AI images, with five meetings planned between April and July.<\/p>\n
At Friday\u2019s session, members reviewed court precedents and academic thinking on whether publicity and portrait rights can be assigned to talent agencies or passed on to families after death. Some participants backed transferability, arguing it would make enforcement easier if agencies could sue on behalf of performers. Others urged caution, warning that the person concerned might not agree with every later use of their voice or image. The next meeting is expected to tackle specific examples, including AI audio built from an anime character voiced by a real performer and naked images generated from an actor\u2019s portrait.<\/p>\n
The debate reflects mounting pressure on authorities to respond to the misuse of generative AI. Japanese police have already pursued cases involving obscene AI images sold online, while the National Police Agency has warned about deepfakes affecting minors. In parallel, parliament last year passed a broader AI law designed to encourage development while allowing the government to name malicious operators if AI is used in crime, underscoring how quickly the legal framework is being forced to catch up with the technology.<\/p>\n
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