Japan’s government recently reaffirmed that it will not enforce copyrights on data used in AI training. The policy allows AI to use any data “regardless of whether it is for non-profit or commercial purposes, whether it is an act other than reproduction, or whether it is content obtained from illegal sites or otherwise.”

Keiko Nagaoka, Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, confirmed the bold stance to local meeting, saying that Japan’s laws won’t protect copyrighted materials used in AI datasets.

Not everyone in Japan is on board with this decision. Many anime and graphic art creators are concerned that AI could lower the value of their work. But in contrast, the academic and business sectors are pressing the government to use the nation’s relaxed data laws to propel Japan to global AI dominance.

Western data access is also key to Japan’s AI ambitions. The more high-quality training data available, the better the AI model. While Japan boasts a long-standing literary tradition, the amount of Japanese language training data is significantly less than the English language resources available in the West.

On a global scale, Japan’s move adds a twist to the regulation debate.