As far as we can establish, Japan has no general law on labelling AI-generated content. According to a secondary source, the 2025 AI Promotion Act focuses on promotion and contains no labelling duty.
According to secondary sources, parliament passed an election campaign rule on 13 July 2026. Realistic AI images and videos that could be mistaken for real footage must be labelled as AI-created from 1 March 2027.
| Status | no law |
|---|---|
| Applies from | open |
| Legal basis | KI-Förderungsgesetz 2025 (ohne Kennzeichnungspflicht); Änderung von Wahlgesetz und Plattformgesetz (Wahlkampf, ab 01.03.2027) |
| Visible label | partly |
| Machine-readable | no |
| Who is obliged | Users |
| Penalties | no penalties for platforms; penalties for breaches of the election labelling rule open per secondary source |
| Source quality | partly secondary sources only (marked in the text) |
What this means for EU retailers
Your EU label in the store conflicts with no Japanese requirement. According to a secondary source, the new rule amends the election law and the information platform law; clearly artificial content is excluded.
Everything on Japan is based on secondary sources, mainly Jiji Press reports. We have not checked the statute ourselves.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to label AI images in Japan?
As far as we can establish, there is no legal duty for advertising and retail. According to a secondary source, a rule for election campaigns applies from 1 March 2027.
Are there penalties?
Not for platforms. Whether users can be penalised was open at the time of the secondary source.
Sources
Para. refers to the paragraph number in the European Commission's guidelines on Article 50, C(2026) 5054.
- Adnkronos: Japan to require labels on AI content during elections (secondary source)Adnkronos · Association · 28 May 2026
- Japan Times: rules on AI use in election campaigns (secondary source)The Japan Times · Association · 28 May 2026
