Overview

• Satoshi Asano of the Democratic Party for the People wrote on October 4 that Nintendo avoids generative AI to safeguard its IP and is lobbying the government on the issue.
• Nintendo has not publicly responded to the post, and the reported lobbying activity has not been independently confirmed.
• Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry issued a guidebook advising similarity checks between AI-generated content and existing copyrighted works.
• Asano highlighted related legal pressure, citing Yomiuri’s roughly ¥2.17 billion suit against Perplexity AI, similar filings by Nikkei and Asahi, and cases by the New York Times and Getty Images against AI firms.
• Company leaders have previously stressed a human-led approach to game development, and Asano said his party intends to promote ethical AI use with potential regulatory tightening.