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AKB48 Group Manga's Artist Yōichirō Tanabe Apologizes for AI-Edited Photo of STU48 Idol

Manga artist Yōichirō Tanabe (Sashiko+48Group 4-Koma Gekijō YonPachi+, Dol Wota Never Die) issued an apology on Monday after posting an AI-edited image of STU48 idol group member Riko Kudō to his X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday. Tanabe said, “I apologize sincerely for offending everyone due to my thoughtless post.” The artist continued, “I am reflecting on, among other things, my lack of awareness regarding privacy and publicity rights and the use of generative AI, as well as my arrogance in misreading the sense of distance between myself and the idols I work with.”

Tanabe added he deleted the post in question and “suspended all current business dealings with the group involved.” The manga creator ended his statement by saying, “I will strive to ensure this does not happen in the future.”

Tanabe's apology came after he used X's updated AI image-editing feature to convert an image of Kudō wearing a white dress into one of her wearing a scarf and white bikini. According to a Josei Jishin article and screenshots posted to Japanese aggregate site Hachima Kikō, Tanabe stated he used the edited image as reference material for his drawings.

Tanabe was the artist for Sashiko+48Group 4-Koma Gekijō YonPachi+, a long-running four-panel manga centering on the AKB48 idol group and its sister groups such as STU48. Tanabe held a series of events to celebrate the publication of the first volume of his later Dol Wota Never Die (Idol Otaku Never Die, pictured left) manga last year. Kudō was the guest and "assistant" during the panel segments and autograph sessions of the fourth such event on November 25.

After Tanabe posted the AI-edited image last Saturday, Kudō quote-reposted Tanabe's post with a series of sick and vomiting emojis.

A subsequent post by Tanabe stated, “Thank you for all your comments and opinions. I've put my current feelings into a song, 'Enjoy My Love.'” What the manga creator is referring to is difficult to determine due to the post being deleted. However, fellow STU48 member Mai Nakamura commented on the post: "There's nothing funny about this, and please stop doing stuff like this on X where anyone can see it. Please also delete your previous post as soon as possible.”

STU48's management released a statement on Monday after the incident. The organization noted it found photos and videos taken without authorization that were posted, as well as AI-generated images and videos modeled on STU48 members' likenesses that were uploaded, to social media accounts and elsewhere. It stated that these types of images and videos infringe on the privacy and publicity rights of STU48 members, and that it will take measures against these types of uploads in coordination with the members' agencies.

STU48's management asked people to immediately delete these photos and videos taken without authorization, as well as AI-generated content modeled on the members. If it cannot confirm the deletion of these content or if it discovers similarly edited or generated content, the STU48 organization will take measures to acquire the poster's identity and, if necessary, take legal action.

As of press time, Tanabe has deleted all posts associated with the AI-edited image of Kudō. Kudō has yet to respond to Tanabe's apology statement.

Sources: Yōichirō Tanabe's X/Twitter account (link 2), Josei Jishin, STU48 via Hachima Kikō (link 2)