Japan’s Ruling Party Proposes Penalties for Malicious AI Operators

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:23 JST, April 23, 2026

A Liberal Democratic Party subcommittee intends to recommend penalties for unscrupulous artificial intelligence operators who fail to comply when the government requests reports under the AI Law, according to a draft of the subcommittee’s proposals regarding AI policy.

The draft also states the government should actively investigate and provide guidance to operators that generate a large amount of content that infringes upon copyrights.

The draft proposals were compiled by the AI and Web3 subcommittee, chaired by former digital minister Masaaki Taira. They are expected to be submitted to the government soon. The government will then consider policies in line with the recommendations.

The draft proposals point out that the damage caused by copyright infringement and deepfakes due to generative AI are becoming increasingly apparent.

They highlight the lack of penalty provisions in the current AI Law, stating that “effective means of addressing challenges in the AI era are limited.” With unscrupulous AI operators in mind, the draft urges the government to “consider more effective and appropriate measures, including penalties.”

The European Union’s AI law imposes penalties on operators who fail to comply with requests for information. The draft proposals cite the risk that, if penalties are not put in place, Japan may be unable to obtain the same information from AI operators that other countries can.

Foreign-made generative AI services have seen a surge in the unauthorized creation of videos and images bearing a striking resemblance to Japanese anime and manga characters.

The draft proposals require the government “to actively seek explanations regarding measures to prevent such generation and the actual state of training data, and reports on response status.” The draft also urges the government to take necessary measures, such as providing guidance, based on the AI Law.

In addition, it argues that Japan should enhance its autonomy in AI to ensure sovereign AI. It calls on the government to support the development of domestically produced AI for autonomous vehicles, strengthen domestic development of components and semiconductors for robots, and accelerate the introduction of AI robots through the use of “robot special zones.”

Japan’s AI Law, which went into effect in September, is aimed at addressing risks while encouraging research and development.

Under Article 16 of the law, if a case arises in which citizens’ rights are infringed upon due to the misuse of AI, the government will investigate and provide guidance and advice to the relevant businesses.