The Tokyo District Court has ruled that a person’s voice can be protected under Japan’s publicity rights, following a lawsuit brought by anime voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda over TikTok videos that allegedly used an AI-generated copy of his distinctive voice. However, the court dismissed Tsuda’s request for the videos to be removed because the account behind them had already taken the content down.
The decision comes amid growing concern among Japanese voice actors over AI-generated replicas of their voices. The Japan Actors Union has also launched a campaign opposing the unauthorised use of performers’ voices and likenesses in generative AI content, warning that widespread cloning could affect the industry’s future.
