Aya Takahashi

Stories

Tokyo court rules human voice can be protected under publicity rights in Japan's first AI voice clone case

Issued the ruling

On September 30, 2026, the Tokyo District Court ruled that a person's voice can be protected under publicity rights, Japan's first such finding. The ruling came in voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda's suit over TikTok videos narrated with an AI imitation of his voice; the court dismissed his removal request because the poster had already deleted the account.

Updated Oct 18