A message requesting the creation of deepfake porn. Images posted online are turned into materials like this. Even elementary school videos appear on servers providing deepfake porn On another server reached via X’s guidance, not sexual videos or images, but numerous graduation album photos from elementary to high school were posted. The purpose was chilling. “They are being exchanged as materials for deepfake porn. Deepfake porn involving minors is not uploaded to the network because it would be problematic, and thus it’s not uploaded to the server either. Enthusiasts generally enjoy it privately. Photos of minors who are ordinary people are rarely publicly available on social media, so enthusiasts trade these materials among themselves on the server,” said X. The thought that deepfake porn of oneself, one’s family, or one’s partner could be created and consumed without consent is horrifying—but is there no legal recourse? Lawyer Hirotaro Kato of Kato & Todoroki Law Office, an expert in sexual crime issues, explained: “In countries such as the UK, France, and South Korea, laws have been enacted or amended to directly criminalize sexual deepfakes. In Japan, however, the current approach is to apply defamation or insult laws, and if images of minors are used, the Child Pornography Prohibition Law. Under current law, even if a creator is caught, the punishment tends to be relatively light. If one can identify the fact that images are being used without consent, civil claims for damages such as infringement of portrait rights are possible, but when images are generated individually or circulated only in closed communities, identification is very difficult.” To protect the dignity of all people, fundamental measures—not just temporary fixes—are required.