April 24, 2026
Tokyo – According to the proposal of the subcommittee on AI policy, the Liberal Democratic Party’s subcommittee plans to recommend penalties for unscrupulous artificial intelligence businesses that do not respond to the government’s reporting requests under the AI Act.
The draft also specifies that the government will actively investigate and provide guidance to businesses that generate large amounts of content that infringes copyrights.
The recommendations were compiled by the AI/Web3 Subcommittee, chaired by former Digital Minister Masaaki Taira. It is expected to be submitted to the government soon. The government will consider policies in line with the recommendations.
The proposal points out that the damage caused by copyright infringement and deep fakes caused by generated AI is becoming more apparent.
They highlight the lack of penalty provisions in the current AI law and state that “effective means to address the challenges of the AI era are limited.” The draft bill calls on the government to “consider more effective and appropriate measures, including penalties,” with unscrupulous AI operators in mind.
The European Union’s AI law imposes penalties on operators who do not respond to information requests. The proposal points out that unless penalties are imposed, Japan may not be able to obtain the same information from AI businesses as other countries.
There has been a rapid increase in the use of foreign-made generation AI services to create videos and images that closely resemble Japanese anime and manga characters without permission.
The draft proposal calls on the government to “proactively request explanations regarding preventive measures and the actual status of training data, as well as request a report on the status of response.” He called on the government to take necessary measures, including guidance based on the AI Act.
Moreover, Japan argues that AI should have greater autonomy to ensure sovereign AI. They are calling on the government to support the domestic production of AI for self-driving cars, strengthen the domestic production of robot parts and semiconductors, and accelerate the introduction of AI robots by utilizing “robot special zones.”
Japan’s AI law, which took effect in September, aims to address risks while promoting research and development.
Article 16 of the law stipulates that if the rights of citizens are violated due to misuse of AI, the government will investigate and provide guidance and advice to related businesses.
