JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Atsushi Igarashi, Yoichiro Kuriyama, Misa Takahashi and Kosuke Ojio, TMI Associates
handling of portrait rights and rights to team uni - forms, how returns from primary and secondary distributors are distributed and how the NFTs are to be used by purchasers are issues that also need consideration. In addition, the enthusiasm which was generated when NFTs first appeared has cooled in recent times, and we have gradually seen a number of NFT businesses being terminated due to failing to generate the revenue that was initially antici - pated. In fact, a video collection service using NFTs for a professional baseball league and a game using player image NFTs for a professional soccer league stopped their services in 2024. It is now time to explore new ways to utilise NFTs in the sports industry, not only for trading cards and games but expanding into new areas. There is a Japanese ski resort using NFTs for tickets, which can be seen as a pioneering use of NFTs. 10.2 AI At present, there are no laws or regulations that cover matters around AI in Japan. How - ever, guidance on the development, provision and use of AI is provided through government guidelines, such as the AI Guidelines for Busi - ness Ver1.01 dated 22 November 2024. The AI Guidelines were jointly issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The General Understanding on AI and Copyright in Japan dated 15 March 2024 was issued by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Examples of the use of AI within the sports indus - try include analysis of players’ performance, development of data-driven game tactics and strategies, supporting player adjustments to var - ious conditions, supporting referee’s decision- making and scoring, improving fan engagement (eg, enrichment of the fan’s viewing experience),
analytical predictions of degree of congestion around the stadium, and dynamic ticket pricing. Since the logical process underlying the results of AI is not clear, and there is no guarantee of the correctness of the results, it is necessary to sort out to what extent the results generated by AI should be accepted/utilised and not to thoughtlessly overestimate the results, as this could pose risks. In addition, any results generated by AI may infringe upon third-party copyrights, and this issue is currently being discussed and deliber - ated on by the relevant authorities together with lawyers and scholars in the field. 10.3 The Metaverse The metaverse is currently being practically applied in various areas across Japan, such as in live music concerts, e-commerce, hous - ing exhibitions, new car release events, virtual towns and medical operations. Some examples of the metaverse being utilised within the sports industry are: • the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (professional baseball team)’s service, which allows users to enjoy a variety of content at the team’s home stadium, the PayPay Dome, by recreat - ing it in the metaverse; • the AR Cheering Challenge by KDDI and Kyoto Sanga F.C. On 2 March 2024, KDDI and Kyoto Sanga F.C. held the “AR Cheering Challenge Beta Version” utilising AR technol - ogy at a J1 League match. Fans were able to use their smartphones inside the stadium, enjoy the AR presentation, participate in the game and support the team by giving gifts; • a women’s handball team, Omron Pindies promotes fan interaction through the use of the metaverse. The team provides a place
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