A few hours ago, reports surfaced that Nintendo had been lobbying against Generative AI in Japan.
Now, Nintendo has issued an official statement denying that is has had any contact with the Japanese government regarding this issue, although they will still take “necessary actions” against infringement of its IP. The statement was posted to its Japanese X/Twitter account in both Japanese and English, signifying how seriously they are taking the report.
Contrary to recent discussions on the internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI. Whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights.
The report originated from a post from Satoshi Asano, a member of the House of Representatives in Japan who had been discussing generative AI on social media. Following Nintendo’s official statement, Asano also posted a retraction on his own X/Twitter account, apologizing for the misinformation.
In my post from the previous day, there was a section mentioning lobbying by private companies regarding IP protection, and afterward, accurate information was provided by the relevant company. In conclusion, there was no fact of lobbying, and it was found that my post contained misinformation, so I would like to correct it. In particular, I apologize to those involved.
If I correct the relevant part of my post from the previous day and rephrase it accurately based on the facts, it becomes: “Nintendo is cautious about the use of generative AI in game development from the perspective of intellectual property protection. It does not engage in lobbying activities toward the government. Regarding IP infringement, it takes appropriate measures regardless of the presence or absence of AI.” Thank you for your understanding.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
AloJapan.com