Tokyo court moves to protect human voices from AI clones

The Tokyo District Court awarded legal protection to the human voice for the first time in Japan, ruling that unauthorized AI voice cloning violates publicity rights.

At the heart of this landmark ruling lies the lawsuit filed by popular Japanese anime voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda known as Jujutsu Kaisen who sued an anonymous TikTok operator for using an AI-generated clone of his trademark baritone across more than 180 videos.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that the operator wrongfully attracted viewers by using his voice for narration and gained lucrative benefits as well.

According to the ruling, Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi stated that a human voice symbolizes individual personality, similar to a portrait, and manipulating its commercial appeal without authorization is unlawful.

“The human voice is symbolic of individual personality, just like one’s portrait,” Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi said, according to a court document.

The defense contended that the videos utilized an AI-generated imitation of Tsuda's voice rather than his actual speech, and maintained that the content caused no harm to the voice actor's professional reputation.

Tsuda's request to delete the videos was dismissed because the account had already been closed. However, the ruling sets a crucial legal precedent protecting performers.

The case also highlights growing global anxiety among voice actors regarding AI cloning, demonstrating controversies involving international stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, and Matthew McConaughey.

In 2025, both Caine and McConaughey signed deals with voice-cloning company ElevenLabs, allowing it to replicate their voices and turn them into AI-generated.