Japan is seeking to bring its anime, manga, and music properties into the age of generative artificial intelligence under a new framework announced in Tokyo.
Asahi.com reported that the newly established Japan IP.AI Co-Creation Association unveiled a system on September 11 allowing creators to specify how their works are used by AI while ensuring revenue flows back to them.
The initiative arrives as people worry about generative AI models using Japanese creative works without permission. Under the proposed framework, rights holders set clear conditions in advance. Kagamiai Holdings, an artificial intelligence and intellectual property business, provided the technological basis for the management system.
Nine overseas AI-related companies have already endorsed the initiative’s guidelines. These backers include Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group and Australian online design platform Canva. Domestic rights holders for the soccer manga “Captain Tsubasa” and the office of producer Yasushi Akimoto have also signed on.
Takami Kondo, the association’s representative director, detailed the group’s ambitions at the Tokyo news conference. With the advent of generative AI, the mechanisms surrounding IP are on the verge of profound change,
Kondo said. We want to create a new global standard, and to do so from Japan.
The Captain Tsubasa
rights holders already authorized their work for AI training. Discussions are also underway regarding works associated with AKB48, the Japanese female idol group produced by Akimoto.
The system lets rights holders control whether their creations can be used commercially or posted on social media. Participants can define specific video and music materials while prohibiting unwanted forms of expression. AI companies track usage and distribute corresponding payments back to the rights holders.
Chinese generative AI company MiniMax Group plans to adopt the system this autumn. The Japanese subsidiary of TikTok parent ByteDance is also discussing adoption. The association intends to approach Google and OpenAI next.
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