Nintendo Lobbies Japanese Government to Regulate Generative AI Use

Nintendo is reportedly lobbying the Japanese government to push back against the increasing use of generative AI.

The news surfaced through a social media post by Satoshi Asano, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives with the Democratic Party for the People, who has been actively gathering public feedback on AI-related policies. In his post, Asano mentioned that while generative AI offers undeniable convenience, it also brings serious risks to creators’ rights.

Asano referenced several ongoing legal battles that highlight the issue. Domestically, Yomiuri Shimbun filed a 2.17 billion yen lawsuit against Perplexity AI earlier this year, accusing the company of using its articles without permission. Other major Japanese newspapers like Nikkei and Asahi have taken similar steps. Internationally, The New York Times sued OpenAI, and Getty Images filed a lawsuit against Stability AI.

To address these growing tensions, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) has started taking concrete steps. The ministry recently released a “Generative AI Utilization Guidebook for Content Creation,” advising companies to verify whether their AI outputs too closely resemble copyrighted works. Some companies, such as DeNA, have already started training AI models solely on proprietary data to avoid legal gray areas.

Most importantly, Asano mentioned Nintendo, stating that it "has avoided the use of generative AI to protect its IP and is also lobbying the government." While the specifics of these lobbying efforts haven’t been disclosed, the move aligns with Nintendo’s history of protecting its franchises from unauthorized use, from fan-made games to emulation websites.

Asano further added that his party intends to promote the “ethical use of generative AI” and will continue to collect input from creators to inform future regulations.