Following similar developments in Europe and the United States, Japanese used-book stores have also seen a surge in bulk orders for AI training purposes, driving a sharp increase in sales. Nippan's name appears in court filings related to US-based Anthropic, prompting a publishing industry association to call for verification of the facts.
A phenomenon previously reported in Europe and the United States has spread to Japan, with a succession of large book orders placed mainly with online used-book stores since around August. The orders are believed to be driven by AI companies collecting training data. There have been reports that this has led to a sharp increase in used-book store sales.
Nippan, a major publishing distributor, appears multiple times in Anthropic's court filings, prompting the Japan Book Publishers Association to call for verification of the facts.
Reports suggest that AI companies, having already absorbed vast amounts of information from the internet, are now turning to book content. Although the legality of the practice is not being denied, disclosure obligations and legal reforms such as opt-out provisions have been raised as issues amid concerns about training without compensation.