A Tokyo court ruled on Wednesday, Tokyo time, that the right of publicity protects a person's voice. It's the first ruling like this in Japan. The court also dismissed voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda's suit against TikTok. Tsuda, 55, is known for anime roles, including in Jujutsu Kaisen. One TikTok account posted 188 videos narrated by an AI voice that viewers said sounded like him. He sued in November 2025 to get them removed and didn't ask for money. The uploader deleted the account in May, so the court said nothing was left to remove. The court, led by Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi, wrote that a voice, like a person's likeness, is "a symbol of individual personality." Using a performer's voice without permission infringes that right when the voice draws customers and the use aims solely to cash in on that draw. The court never said whether these videos did.

1. This Is a Big Win for Voice Actors

Tsuda's lawyer and the voice-acting industry say the videos are gone and a court has now said voices are protected.

The videos Tsuda sued over are gone. "The whole account and every video were deleted, so our original goal was fully achieved," his lawyer Takashi Hirano told reporters after the ruling. Tsuda's side plans not to appeal. Hirano said it's the first time a court has laid down a rule that voices are protected, and it "will act as a deterrent going forward." He also told AFP the ruling "ended up making both sides look victorious."

The next voice actor may have an easier case. Hirano said future plaintiffs may find it easier to argue their cases using what the court said about voices. Hideo Momota handles generative-AI issues for an association of about 50 voice-acting agencies. He called it "a wonderful ruling." "Unless voices are protected, our business is finished," he told Jiji.

Actors see this as one step in a longer campaign. On X, the Japan Actors Union thanked Tsuda for his courage. Before the ruling, actor Bin Shimada, part of the actors' "No More" campaign, told AFP that "our industry can be crushed" if a TikTok win set off "unbridled" AI voice cloning. Voice actor Yuki Kaji wrote that although the claim was dismissed, what matters is that the posts came down.

2. The Voice Was Generic, and TikTok Only Hosted It

TikTok says the voice wasn't Tsuda's and it only hosted what users posted.

The voice wasn't Tsuda's, the company says. TikTok told the court the narration was "a generic male voice." It argued the audio was another person's voice processed with AI. The uploader's own site said the AI learned from a friend who's good at voice impressions.

It only hosted the posts. TikTok argued it "merely provides a place to post." It told the court the uploader's freedom of expression covered the posts. All it did was "host a forum where users could post creative and ingenious content within the scope of free speech," TikTok told the court, according to AFP. It also disputed Tsuda's "national fame."

The company promises to keep balancing new tech and rights. TikTok said it would "respect the court's judgment" and decide its next steps after reviewing the details. "We will continue to sincerely work on the balance between technology development and rights protection," it said.

3. But Tsuda Lost, and the Hard Questions Are Still Open

A patent attorney calls the voice holding a side remark, and a law professor says the line for infringement is still vague.

Legally, this was a loss. Kiyoshi Kurihara is a patent attorney and a visiting professor at Kanazawa Institute of Technology. "Plaintiff Kenjiro Tsuda lost," he wrote on Yahoo News. He called the voice holding a side remark and the ruling "somewhat of a letdown." Still, he said it matters that a court put this in writing.

Asking for money might have forced an answer. "Had they claimed even 1 yen in damages, the court might have ruled on whether the past conduct was illegal," Kurihara wrote. He thinks the ruling's future influence is limited because the uploader wasn't part of the case.

Proving an AI copied a voice is still hard. Waseda University law professor Tatsuhiro Ueno told Nikkei the ruling is "a sound decision" that supports voice actors. He said proving AI audio matches a famous person's voice is harder than proving a copied face or name. He added that where infringement begins "is still vague."

Where This Lands

Tsuda's lawyer says the videos are gone, and he and the voice-acting business say a court has now put voices under publicity rights. TikTok says the voice wasn't Tsuda's and it only hosted users' posts. Kurihara says Tsuda lost and the ruling's reach is limited because the uploader wasn't in the case. Ueno says the line for infringement is still vague. The Japan Actors Union says it will comment after reading the full judgment. Tsuda's side plans not to appeal, so the ruling and what it says about voices would stand.

Sources