A popular voice actor has filed a lawsuit against the operator of TikTok, demanding the deletion of videos using a voice he claims was created by generative artificial intelligence imitating his voice, it was learned Monday.
The lawsuit, filed with the Tokyo District Court by Kenjiro Tsuda last November, is believed to be Japan’s first such case against the unauthorized use of a celebrity’s voice created by generative AI.
According to the complaint, at least 188 videos featuring narrations with voice characteristics resembling Tsuda’s were posted by one account on TikTok between July 2024 and September 2025. The number of the page’s followers totaled about 210,000, while the videos reportedly generated monthly revenue of between ¥500,000 and ¥750,000 based on view counts.
The plaintiff’s side claimed that the narrations were intentionally generated, saying an analysis of the audio data found the AI output resembles Tsuda’s distinctive deep and mellow voice. The lawsuit says that his publicity right, which allows celebrities to control the commercial use of their names and images, was violated.
The TikTok side argued that the narrations were a generic male voice and not particularly distinctive, saying that the plaintiff’s claim is based on subjective and sensory evaluation.
Regarding the unauthorized use of the voices of actors and singers created by generative AI, the Justice Ministry set up an expert panel in April to clarify procedures for making civil claims for damages.
Tsuda is known for voicing Kylo Ren of the “Star Wars” movie series and Kento Nanami, a popular character in Japanese anime series “Jujutsu Kaisen.”
Originally written by: JIJI
Image credit: Reuters
Source: The Japan Times
Published on: 26 May 2026
Link to original article: Actor files lawsuit against TikTok operator over AI-generated voice use
