Criticism is rising within Japan's publishing industry after it was revealed that Nippan Group Holdings Inc. sold Japanese books to U.S.-based AI developer Anthropic PBC without notifying the publishers. Concerns have emerged that these books may have been used for AI training, undermining trust in Nippan.
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Norio Yamamoto, president of the Japan Book Publishers Association, which has around 380 member publishers, expressed dissatisfaction, stating that the actions of book distributors do not align with their claims of supporting publishing culture. Yamamoto emphasized that the relationship between distributors and publishers must be transparent.
Earlier this month, Nippan confirmed it had sold books to Anthropic in response to inquiries from the association. This issue surfaced in documents submitted for a lawsuit filed by U.S. authors in August 2024 against Anthropic, alleging copyright infringement related to the digitization of books and the acquisition of book data from pirated sources.
Nippan has stated that it was unaware the transactions with Anthropic were meant for AI training purposes. The company's main business involves wholesale distribution, purchasing books from publishers to sell to bookstores. Financially, Nippan faced challenges as it reported consolidated net sales of 342.7 billion yen and an operating loss of 1.3 billion yen for fiscal 2025, with its wholesale division experiencing a loss of 3.6 billion yen.
Japan's Copyright Law has earned the country the designation as a "paradise for AI training" due to permissive provisions allowing the use of texts and illustrations for AI without needing permission from copyright holders. A legal expert, Kensaku Fukui, noted that there are currently no precedents that render purchasing books for scanning illegal. He emphasized the need for regulatory discussions around copyright holders’ rights and the establishment of an opt-out mechanism.
The publishers association plans to meet in late October to discuss potential future collaborations with Nippan, as well as to consider whether to engage in individual or collective negotiations. Yashio Uemura, a former professor and publishing expert, expressed hope that this situation would lead to new rules governing the relationship between publishing companies and AI firms.