AI news · Japan · AI voice
Tokyo court rules a voice is protected by publicity rights
Japan’s first ruling on an AI voice clone treats a performer’s voice like a portrait, though the videos at issue were already gone.
The Tokyo District Court ruled on Wednesday 30 September 2026 that a person’s voice is protected by publicity rights, the first such ruling in Japan, Jiji Press reports. Judge Aya Takahashi likened a voice to a portrait as a symbol of personality.
The case was brought by Kenjiro Tsuda, a voice actor known for Jujutsu Kaisen, against TikTok’s operator. An anonymous account posted 188 videos between July 2024 and September 2025, narrated by an AI voice he said imitated his own. It reached more than 200,000 followers and allegedly earned upwards of ¥500,000 a month, The Next Web reports.
The court still dismissed his request to delete the videos, because the account had already taken them down. It did not decide whether his own rights were breached. TikTok had argued the narration used a generic male voice, Digital Music News reports.
For advertisers using cloned or synthetic voices, Japan’s first ruling puts a recognisable voice on a par with a face. A clone that trades on a known performer’s voice now carries the same legal exposure there as their photo.
Sources
- Nippon.com (Jiji Press): Japan Court Recognizes Publicity Rights in Voice for 1st Time. Checked
- The Next Web: Tokyo court rules the human voice is protected, in a TikTok AI clone case. Checked
- Digital Music News: Japan Rules Voice Is A Protected Publicity Right in Ruling. Checked
Alexander Bleu
Alexander Bleu is a creative strategist and copywriter with ten years in content and SEO. He writes and edits short-form ads, works in English and French, and reads the pricing and terms pages behind every tool on this site before anything is written about it.
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