October 2, 2026 — A Tokyo court has ruled that a person’s voice can be protected under publicity rights, in the first case of its kind in Japan — a decision with big implications for AI-generated voice cloning.
What happened
The Tokyo District Court ruled on September 30 in a case brought by actor and anime voice performer Kenjiro Tsuda — best known as the voice of Kento Nanami in “Jujutsu Kaisen” — against the operator of a TikTok account called “Nanami.” Tsuda alleged the anonymous account used an AI-generated voice imitating his distinctive baritone to narrate more than 180 videos about urban legends and paranormal phenomena, and that viewers frequently commented on the resemblance. The account had attracted more than 200,000 followers by November 2025, according to reporting on the case.
Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi said a human voice, like a portrait, can symbolize an individual’s personality, and that unauthorized use of a voice with the clear intention of exploiting its commercial appeal can constitute an infringement of publicity rights.
The catch
The court did not actually order anything removed — the TikTok account and its videos had already been deleted during the proceedings, so there was nothing left to take down. And, as legal observers note, the court did not definitively rule that Tsuda’s rights had been violated in this specific case. TikTok’s operator had argued the narration used a generic male voice that merely resembled Tsuda’s, not his actual voice. Still, the court’s reasoning on the publicity-right question is what makes the ruling a precedent: it is the first time a Japanese court has explicitly recognized a voice as deserving of protection.
Why it matters
This is the first judicial answer to a question that has been hanging over the AI industry for years: do you own your voice the way you own your face? For anime voice actors — whose careers are literally their vocal cords — the answer now leans toward yes. Expect this precedent to ripple beyond Japan, as courts in the US and Europe grapple with the same AI-cloning disputes. For AI voice companies, the compliance bar just got taller: “sounds like” is no longer obviously safe.
Quick answers
What did the Tokyo court decide?
That a person’s voice can be protected under the right of publicity when its use is aimed at exploiting its commercial appeal — the first such ruling in Japan.
Did the court order the TikTok videos removed?
No. The anonymous account had already been deleted, so the court dismissed the removal request. It also did not definitively rule that Tsuda’s rights were violated in this specific case.
Why does this matter for AI voice cloning?
It’s the first Japanese judicial ruling treating an AI-imitated voice as potentially infringing publicity rights, and it could influence how courts worldwide handle unauthorized AI voice cloning.
Sources: Associated Press (via TBS News), Kyodo News (via Dig.watch), Trademark Lawyer Magazine.