The Japan Book Publishers Association sent a letter to Nippan Group Holdings requesting that it verify the facts after the publishing distributor was found on the 18th to have sold large volumes of books to U.S. AI company Anthropic. The books sold may have been used to train Anthropic’s AI.
The Japan Book Publishers Association, an industry body comprising approximately 380 Japanese publishers, sent a letter to Nippan Group Holdings requesting that it verify the facts after the major publishing distributor was found to have sold large volumes of books to U.S. AI company Anthropic.
Some publishers and authors have objected amid indications that the books sold may have been used to train Anthropic’s AI. Nippan’s response and details of any future discussions have not been disclosed in this matter.
The development can be viewed as part of efforts to verify the facts as industry interest grows in the transparency of training-data sources and rights clearance associated with AI development. Further exchanges between the association and Nippan, along with any additional explanations, will be closely watched in subsequent reports.