JJK and Evangelion Star Megumi Ogata Says She's…
Voice actress Megumi Ogata speaks out against unauthorized AI voice cloning as Japan moves to protect performers under new publicity rights guidelines
- Incident date
- Jul 2026
- Target
- Megumi Ogata
Acclaimed voice actress Megumi Ogata, known for her roles in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Jujutsu Kaisen, has publicly condemned the unauthorized use of AI to clone her voice and the voices of characters she portrays. Her remarks coincide with a landmark effort by the Japanese government to establish legal protections for performers against the exploitation of their likenesses and vocal identities.
What happened
The issue centers on the emergence of platforms that allow users to generate synthetic dialogue using AI models trained on the voices of specific actors and anime characters. Ogata described the unauthorized cloning of her work as heartbreaking, emphasizing that these voices are integral to her identity and the result of years of collaborative creative effort. She noted that many services monetize these AI-generated performances without consent, effectively using creators as training material for generative AI systems.
In response to the proliferation of these tools—which an NPO estimated produced over 43,000 unauthorized AI-generated images and videos involving performers' voices in a two-month period in 2025—the Japanese Ministry of Justice has drafted new guidelines. Approved on July 27, 2026, these guidelines aim to categorize a person's voice under existing publicity rights. If finalized, this framework would allow performers to pursue legal claims for damages against those who monetize unauthorized AI-generated voice content.
Ogata, who participated in a Ministry of Justice review panel in May 2026, has been a vocal advocate for these protections. She expressed concern that without clear regulatory safeguards, the future of the voice acting industry is at risk, particularly for younger performers. While traditional impersonations intended for performance are generally excluded from these potential violations, the guidelines specifically target the commercialization of AI models designed to replicate specific celebrities or characters. The industry is currently awaiting the formal publication of these rules, which hope to curb the economic losses estimated at 2 billion to 4.5 billion yen caused by unauthorized AI usage.