A high profile Japanese anime voice actor has taken TikTok to court over videos he says feature an artificial intelligence clone of his voice, with a verdict due on Wednesday. The lawsuit was filed by Kenjiro Tsuda, known for starring roles in major franchises including Jujutsu Kaisen and Yu-Gi-Oh!, and is believed to be the first case in Japan seeking to defend an individual’s vocal identity against AI generated copies. The case comes as AI imitation grows into a concern for performers worldwide, and it has unsettled Japan’s animation industry, where voice actors are often admired as much as the characters they portray.
Tsuda, who is 55, is demanding that TikTok remove a series of videos narrated by a deep and lustrous voice that he says can only be his. According to court records, the videos combine images with what appears to be AI generated narration about urban legends and conspiracy theories, and the anonymous account behind them uses a picture resembling a Jujutsu Kaisen character voiced by Tsuda. TikTok argues that the narrator is a generic male voice and that any similarity to Tsuda’s own is subjective. The company has also questioned his national fame and recognition, denying that the account took advantage of a well known brand in violation of Japan’s unfair competition prevention laws. It describes itself as a host of a forum where users can post creative content within the scope of free speech, a position that appears to downplay its own role in any alleged violation of intellectual property.
Alongside the lawsuit, Tsuda’s supporters have raised wider concerns about what the ruling could mean for the industry. Yuko Sasaki, executive director of the Japan Actors Union, said an actor’s voice is the result of years of rigorous training and apprenticeship, and urged the court to acknowledge that ownership of a voice is a fundamental right. Sasaki and other Japanese voice actors have also launched a campaign called No More against the use of generative AI to mimic performers without permission. Actor Bin Shimada, who is part of the campaign group, warned that the industry could be crushed if a court win for TikTok leads to unbridled AI voice cloning on social media, adding that younger actors could lose hope. Tatsuhiro Ueno, a professor of intellectual property studies at Waseda University, said it is very unlikely that Tsuda will be denied publicity rights for his voice, particularly because his role in the ongoing Jujutsu Kaisen series has made his voice highly recognizable in Europe.
The dispute also highlights a legal gap that extends beyond Japan. No law in the country explicitly enshrines a person’s voice as a protected right, which leaves performers relying on existing publicity and unfair competition provisions. The International Federation of Actors said last year that in many countries copyright and data protection laws have not been adequately adapted to protect performers from AI clones. The issue drew wider attention in 2024, when OpenAI apologised to actress Scarlett Johansson over a synthetic voice that sounded like her, released after she declined to work with the company on the project. Wednesday’s verdict is therefore being watched closely, as it could shape how courts in Japan treat AI generated voice imitation and how social media platforms are held responsible for content their users post.
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