石田英司「出版取次の日販、アンソロピックに書籍を大量販売か」「アジア大会の北朝鮮代表、日本で亡命希望か」「社員寮・社宅が30年ぶりに増加」9月25日

Nippan and Anthropic — Mass Book Sales Spark Copyright Dispute

Allegations have surfaced that Nippan Group Holdings (日販グループホールディングス), Japan's largest book wholesaler, sold large volumes of books to AI developer Anthropic. The Asahi Shimbun reported that the Japan Book Publishers Association (日本書籍出版協会), whose roughly 380 member publishers account for a broad swath of the industry, sent Nippan a letter requesting confirmation of the facts. The controversy has its roots in ongoing U.S. litigation: three authors sued Anthropic, alleging that the company collected books from around the world, physically cut them apart, digitized them, and used them to train its AI models. Nippan itself generates annual revenues of approximately ¥250 billion, making it a linchpin of Japan's publishing supply chain.

U.S. "Fair Use" vs. Japanese Copyright Law — What Is Actually at Issue

American courts ruled that feeding purchased books into an AI system qualifies as fair use and does not constitute copyright infringement. However, courts did find infringement in Anthropic's separate use of pirated books sourced from the internet, and that portion of the case remains in dispute.

In Japan, a 2018 amendment to Article 30-4 of the Copyright Act explicitly permits recording copyrighted works in a database for AI development and training. A proviso, however, prohibits uses that "unreasonably harm the interests of copyright holders." The publishers association is pressing Nippan to disclose which titles were sold, in what quantities, and for what stated purpose — documents that have been released in the U.S. proceedings only in heavily redacted form.

Commentator Ishida Eiji (石田英司) highlighted a key point: the reason AI can now answer niche requests — such as "write a mystery novel set in the daily life of commoners in the Muromachi period" — is precisely because the academic and specialized works that experts devoted their careers to writing became training data. He explained the publishers' argument that if an AI product is trained on vast quantities of medical texts and history books, simply purchasing those books may not be sufficient compensation. Ishida also noted that researchers are studying techniques to manipulate AI responses toward specific viewpoints — something he described as an "AI SEO" — and flagged this as a risk for information manipulation.

Two North Korean Delegates Reportedly Seek Asylum in Japan — An Unprecedented Development

South Korean monthly magazine Wolgan Chosun (月刊朝鮮) reported that two of the 188 members of North Korea's delegation to the Asian Games, currently being held in Nagoya, are refusing to return home and are requesting asylum in Japan. The source is described as someone connected to Japan's Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (内閣情報調査室) who also has ties to Chongryon (朝鮮総連). The Japanese government has not officially confirmed the information.

Past defection cases from North Korea have almost without exception ended with the individuals ultimately choosing South Korea. Historical examples include four crew members who sought asylum when a North Korean aircraft arrived in 1966; eleven people who drifted ashore by small boat in 1987; a family of four who landed in Aomori by wooden boat in 2007; and eleven people who reached a remote island in 2011 — all eventually went to South Korea. The reasons are straightforward: South Korea treats North Korean defectors as citizens of the same country, provides generous support for housing, employment, and education, and shares the same language and culture. A stated preference for Japan is therefore a striking departure from every known precedent.

Legally, the non-refoulement principle — the international norm prohibiting forced return of anyone who would face persecution — would apply first. A refugee status examination, which takes roughly six months, would follow. Japan's "complementary protection" system, introduced in 2023, allows the country to shelter individuals who do not qualify as convention refugees but face danger in their home country. The two individuals' identities, the sensitivity of any information they may carry, and the complex diplomatic dimensions of Japan's relationship with North Korea mean that how the government proceeds will be watched closely.

Company Dormitories Return After 30 Years — What Has Changed Across Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa

A Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey found that company-owned employee dormitories and housing (給与住宅) increased in 2023 for the first time in 30 years. The category peaked in 1993; after the bubble economy collapsed, companies sold off real estate and slashed welfare benefits, causing a sharp and sustained decline. The current drivers are a severe labor shortage and soaring housing costs. Sumitomo Electric Industries expanded its company dormitories last April, and Mazda plans to consolidate its scattered facilities in Hiroshima Prefecture into a new 800-room dormitory opening next April.

Ishida traced the shift across three eras. In the Showa period, companies operated as corporate communities (企業共同体), looking after employees' entire lives — including company trips, sports days, and company housing — on the premise of lifetime employment and loyalty to the firm. The Heisei era brought the collapse of the bubble and a shift toward performance-based evaluation and individualism: workers were expected to manage their own lives, and benefits including resort facilities, company trips, and dormitories steadily disappeared. Now, in the Reiwa era, intensifying competition for talent has led companies to reframe company housing as strategic investment rather than welfare overhead.