Japanese politician Satoshi Asano has revealed in a lengthy post on X that Nintendo currently lobbying with the Japanese government in a coordinated effort to push back against the threats from Artificial Intelligence. While it’s not explicitly stated, it seems as though Nintendo is trying to protect their IP, which is something the Kyoto-based company has been doing for many years on a number of fronts. Here’s a rough translation:
“Thank you all for your comments and opinions on my recent post about generative AI yesterday.
While I recognize the convenience of generative AI, this discussion has once again made me realize how important it is to protect creators’ rights. I sincerely take to heart the fact that my post has sparked debate.
Upon researching the matter, I found that in a past dispute, Yomiuri Shimbun filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in 2025, seeking around 2.17 billion yen in damages for unauthorized use of its articles. Nikkei Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun have filed similar lawsuits.
Overseas, The New York Times has sued OpenAI, and Getty Images has sued Stability AI over copyright infringement.
In Japan, recent initiatives include the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry publishing a “Guidebook for the Use of Generative AI in Content Creation”, which recommends checking AI-generated works for similarities to existing copyrighted materials. More companies, such as DeNA, are developing AI systems using their own proprietary data. Meanwhile, Nintendo avoids using generative AI to protect its intellectual property and is also engaged in lobbying efforts with the government.
As Representative Tamaki stated in his post, our party plans to promote the ethical use of generative AI while considering stricter regulations. We will take into account the valuable feedback we’ve received from creators and work toward implementing effective measures.
We welcome your continued opinions and input.”
