TOKYO — The Tokyo District Court ruled that the unauthorized use of a performer's voice can be considered an infringement on publicity rights. The court dismissed Kenjiro Tsuda’s request for the removal of the videos because the user had deleted them after the lawsuit was filed.

The ruling is believed to be the first in Japan seeking to defend an individual’s vocal identity against AI-generated copies. Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi stated that a voice is as symbolic of one’s personality as portraits are. She emphasized that protection applies if the purpose of using the voice is exclusively to take advantage of its commercial appeal.

TikTok argued that the videos contained a generic male voice and that any perceived similarities to Tsuda’s voice were highly subjective. The defendant argued that the videos did not damage Tsuda’s reputation as a voice actor. Tsuda’s legal team described the content posted by the anonymous TikTok account as sordid.

The anonymous TikTok account had more than 200,000 subscribers at one point. According to the legal complaint, the clips would have earned the account owner between ¥500,000 and ¥75,000 in monthly revenue.

TikTok stated it would respect the court’s judgment while considering what steps to take after scrutinizing the ruling’s details. The company added it will continue to sincerely work on the balance between technology development and rights protection.

Why It Matters

The Tokyo District Court’s ruling is the first in Japan to explicitly address the legal protection of a human voice under publicity rights, setting a new legal standard for similar cases. In 2012, Japan’s Supreme Court recognized publicity rights as a form of legal protection, though they are not explicitly codified in statute. The Justice Ministry of Japan published non-binding guidelines in August 2026 stating that a person's voice should be protected under publicity rights and the right to prevent unauthorized use of one's likeness.

In 2024, actors in Japan launched a campaign called No More to oppose the unauthorized use of their faces and voices in AI-generated content. The Japan Actors Union launched this campaign in October 2024. Yuko Sasaki, executive director of the Japan Actors Union, said an actor’s voice is the result of years of rigorous training and apprenticeship. Kenjiro Tsuda has been a voice actor for over 25 years, with notable roles in major anime franchises such as 'Jujutsu Kaisen' and 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.'

What's New

The Tokyo District Court found that the anonymous TikTok account had posted at least 188 videos using AI-generated voice content resembling Tsuda’s between July 2024 and September 2025. The Tokyo District Court acknowledged that the unauthorized use of a performer's voice could be considered an infringement of publicity rights if it was done with the intent to profit from the commercial appeal of the voice. The Japan Actors Union launched a campaign called 'No More' in October 2024 to oppose the unauthorized use of performers’ voices and likenesses in AI-generated content.

The anonymous TikTok account that uploaded the AI-generated videos had more than 210,000 followers at its peak, according to the court ruling.

Duel Monsters.'