Japanese Government Calls on Sora 2 Maker OpenAI to Refrain From Copyright Infringement, Says Characters From Manga and Anime Are 'Irreplaceable Treasures' That Japan Boasts to the World

The Japanese authorities has made a ceremonial petition asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement (as reported by ITMedia). This comes arsenic a effect to Sora 2’s quality to make videos featuring the likenesses of copyrighted characters from anime and video games.

Sora 2, which OpenAI launched connected October 1, is susceptible of generating 20-second agelong videos astatine 1080p resolution, implicit with sound. Soon aft its release, societal media was flooded with videos generated by the app, galore of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from fashionable anime and crippled franchises specified arsenic One Piece, Demon Slayer, Pokémon, and Mario.

Speaking astatine the Japanese government’s Cabinet Office property league connected Friday, Minoru Kiuchi (the curate of authorities for IP and AI strategy) informed attendees astir the government’s request, which called connected the American enactment to refrain from infringing connected Japanese IPs. The petition was reportedly made online by the Cabinet Office’s Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters. Kiuchi went connected to picture manga and anime arsenic “irreplaceable treasures” that Japan boasts to the world.

Minoru Kiuchi described manga and anime arsenic “irreplaceable treasures” that Japan boasts to the world. Photo by David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images.

Other Japanese politicians similar Digital Minister Masaaki Taira person expressed hopes that OpenAI volition instrumentality voluntary enactment to comply with this request, indicating that measures nether Japan's AI Promotion Act whitethorn beryllium invoked if the contented remains unresolved.

Fully enforced from September 1st 2025, Japan’s AI Promotion Act aims to marque Japan the astir “AI affable country” by driving policies that beforehand improvement and utilization of AI for socio-economic growth. However, it besides lays down immoderate principles for dealing with problematic AI use, including copyright infringement. Article 16 of the AI Promotion enactment covers probe and probe and says that the authorities whitethorn “analyze cases successful which citizens’ rights oregon interests person been infringed upon done research, development, oregon utilization of AI-related exertion conducted for improper purposes oregon by inappropriate methods, and see countermeasures based connected those analyses.” However, arsenic noted by the Future of Privacy Forum, the enactment does not specify immoderate wide penalties for misuse of AI, but alternatively calls connected concern operators to cooperate with the measures.

A subordinate of Japan’s ruling LDP enactment with a spot successful the country’s parliament (the Diet), person Akihisa Shiozaki has written extensively astir Sora 2 and its ineligible implications connected his authoritative X account, and noted: “the merchandise of Sora 2 has erstwhile again highlighted the contented of AI and copyright."

However, helium besides insisted this situation is an opportunity: “Japan bears a work to instrumentality the pb connected making rules (related to AI and copyright infringement), precisely due to the fact that we are a state that has captivated the satellite with the originative powerfulness of anime, games, and music.”

Reuters reported connected September 29 that OpenAI had contacted studios and endowment agencies a week earlier Sora 2’s launch, giving them the enactment to opt out. However, it was not specified which studios were contacted. Whether large Japanese originative companies and studios were contacted oregon not is unclear, but the information that Sora 2 tin make videos containing the likenesses of Japanese characters has triggered a batch of backlash connected Japanese-speaking societal media. Criticism has been leveled, not lone astatine OpenAI, but besides astatine the Japanese authorities and Japanese IP holders for their perceived nonaccomplishment to respond swiftly capable to the infringement dangers posed by AI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Sora 2 videos utilizing copyrighted characters "interactive instrumentality fiction." Photo by: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

In his October 4 blog station connected Sora 2 (previously reported connected by IGN), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that changes would beryllium made to the fledgling video procreation app successful the adjacent future. “First, we volition springiness rightsholders much granular power implicit procreation of characters, akin to the opt-in exemplary for likeness but with further controls," Altman confirmed, adding OpenAI volition springiness rightsholders “the quality to specify however their characters tin beryllium utilized (including not astatine all).”

He acknowledged determination mightiness beryllium “some borderline cases” of quality depiction slipping done the cracks but that this would beryllium ironed retired successful time. Altman besides made a circumstantial refefence to Japan, saying: “in particular, we'd similar to admit the singular originative output of Japan — we are struck by however heavy the transportation betwixt users and Japanese contented is!”

However, astatine the clip of writing, determination has been nary ceremonial effect from OpenAI regarding the Japanese government’s latest request.

Earlier this month, Nintendo took the antithetic measurement of issuing an authoritative connection seemingly successful effect to comments from Satoshi Asano, a subordinate of Japan’s House of Representatives. In a deleted societal media station helium subsequently apologized for, Asano accused Nintendo of “avoiding utilizing generative AI to support its IP” and "engaging successful lobbying activities with the government" implicit the accrued usage of generative AI successful the gaming industry.

Nintendo denied this, but did pass it would instrumentality “necessary actions against infringement of our intelligence spot rights.”

“Contrary to caller discussions connected the internet, Nintendo has not had immoderate interaction with the Japanese authorities astir generative AI,” Nintendo said. “Whether generative AI is progressive oregon not, we volition proceed to instrumentality indispensable actions against infringement of our intelligence spot rights.”

Disney and Universal person sued the AI representation creator Midjourney, alleging that the institution improperly utilized and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney besides sent a cease and desist missive to Character.AI, informing the startup to halt utilizing its copyrighted characters without authorization.

“A batch of the videos that radical are going to make of these cartoon characters are going to infringe copyright,” Mark Lemley, a prof astatine Stanford Law School, told CNBC. “OpenAI is opening itself up to rather a batch of copyright lawsuits by doing this.”

Last month, the famously litigious The Pokémon Company formally responded to the usage of Pokémon TV leader Ash Ketchum and the series' taxable tune by the Department of Homeland Security, arsenic portion of a video showing radical being arrested and handcuffed by instrumentality enforcement agents. "Our institution was not progressive successful the instauration oregon organisation of this content," a spokesperson told IGN, "and support was not granted for the usage of our intelligence property."

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.